Sport magazine Issue 287

20 12

The Year in SporT

F r a g r a n c e f o r Wo m e n

issue 287, December 21 2012 radar 05 The sporting bucket list The big events to tick off before you leave this planet – including Boca Juniors v River Plate

06 Cry Redgrave a river If you thought the Olympics were emotional, try Sir Steve’s River Adventures gaming app

08 The kids are alright The kind chaps at In Bed With Maradona tell us who’s bright and young in world football oFeatures this coming week

14 The Year in Sport We look back at the finest 12 months of our lives – the biggest names, the best quotes and at least one episode of us predicting something correctly

36 2012 questions Actually, there’s only 50: it’s our quiz on the sporting year past.

No, you can’t use your iPhone

05

14 60

46 Premier League preview Winter break? We simply wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves were it not for the festive football schedule

extra Time 54 Gadgets Allow the robotic vacuum cleaner to clean up your mess after you’ve unwrapped your presents

56 Jade Elliott The former Miss Leicester will be watching Uncle Buck and E.T. with her dad this Christmas. Probably

58 Kit Because if you’re not wearing a novelty jumper, you’re just not doing Christmas properly

60 Entertainment Life of Pi features our favourite tiger since Tim Henman, while Peep Show remains razor sharp | December 21 2012 | 03

Radar

p06 – Get up close with what’s left of Grosjean’s Lotus E20

p06 – Sir Steve sells his app down the river p08 – We get In Bed With Maradona, and the 100 best footballers under 23

Not the end of the world it’s at its most lively when the New York Yankees come to town. The rivalry has its own lore, including the famous curse supposedly triggered by the sale of star player Babe Ruth from the Red Sox to the Yankees in 1919.

Boca Juniors v River Plate La Bombonera, April 28 2013

It’s the 100th edition of the Tour next year, and the riders will once again sprint to the finish along the Champs-Elysées. The peloton screaming towards the finishing line is one of the greatest sights in sport – just ask Mark Cavendish, who’s won the sprint stage in each of the past four years.

Football is different in South America.

Plastic seats and prawn sandwiches make way for pounding drums and whole stands of people bouncing so madly that you fear the rickety surroundings might give way. The Superclasico between Argentina’s biggest teams always makes for a riveting encounter, if you can tear your eyes away from the mesmerising crowd.

New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox Fenway Park, July 19-21 2013 Fenway Park is steeped in history – it celebrated its centenary this year – and

Final Stage of the Tour de France Paris, July 21 2013

Final day of the Masters April 14

The most famous stretch of holes in golfing’s global topography, Amen Corner – the section of Augusta that incorporates the 11th fairway, all of the very short par three 12th, and the tee shot at the 13th – is the iconic viewing point that golf’s biggest tournament deserves. Just beware: every single person with a Sunday ticket has the same idea.

The Yankees adopt a fairly unusual field setting in a bid to unsettle their opponents

Maxi Failla/AFP/Getty Images, Elsa/Getty Images

T

he imminent apocalypse (it should arrive at some point today, if you believe the Mayans) has made us very aware of our mortality. But, just in case the world doesn’t end today, we’ve picked out five sporting events to see before you die that you can tick off your list in 2013.

The Ashes July-August 2013 and November 2013-January 2014 Australia’s once fearsome cricket team aren’t what they once were, but The Ashes remains the highlight of the cricket calendar. There are two series next year because of the 2015 World Cup, so you have no excuse. The only question is, do you go to Leeds or Sydney...

| December 21 2012 | 05

Radar

Show and tell Y

ou won’t get a better chance to get up close and personal with an F1 car, unless you’re planning to carry out a Trenton Oldfield-style intervention during next year’s Monaco Grand Prix.

The Autosport International show in Birmginham next January will feature loads of cars from the 2012 season, including the

title winning RB8, Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari F2012, and what’s left of Romain Grosjean’s Lotus E20. You can also view classic cars from Jackie Stewart’s private collection, try your hand at karting and encounter a host of motoring celebrities.

Autosport International, January 10-13, NEC. For info, visit autosportinternational.com

I

nspired by Joseph Conrad’s classic novel Heart of Darkness, Sir Steve Redgrave’s River Adventures is a brutal examination of colonial exploitation of African resources as the protagonist journeys down the Congo river by boat.

Not really. Sir Steve Redgrave’s River Adventures is in fact a kitschy romp through crocodile-infested waters with Great Britain’s second-greatest ever Olympian on the hunt for gold. That’s apparently meant to be Sir Steve below, albeit clearly the Los Angeles ‘84 model and not something more recent.

Intuitive controls and a pleasingly simple mechanic (and that it’s free) make this moderately diverting iPhone app worth checking out. We imagine Redgrave ranks this among his greatest achievements (between golds two and three), although it probably won’t have the lasting impact of Conrad’s masterpiece.

Free, out now for all iOS devices

Gold river 06 | December 21 2012 |

Spin class I

t’s been a tumultuous year for cycling, and it’s deftly explored in Volume 1 of the Cycling Anthology, which pulls together short essays from great writers on topics ranging from Pendleton v Meares to cyclonomics.

The Cycling Anthology, £8, prendas.co.uk

Radar

Bright young things

O

n Wednesday, influential football website In Bed With Maradona published the IBWM 100: the best 100 under-23s in world football. Editor Jeff Livingstone picks out three starlets...

Bernard Atlético Mineiro, 20 “During his time at Barcelona, Ronaldinho would often take a break from training just to watch a young Leo Messi perform his wizardry. At Atlético Mineiro, the same thing is happening again, but this time it is wonderkid Bernard that has caught the Brazilian legend’s eye.”

James Rodríguez Porto, 21

Lazar Markovic Partizan Belgrade, 18

“When a player becomes so important to a team that they change their entire style of play to utilise him most effectively, then you know he must be special. James Rodriguez meets that criteria, and Porto are reaping the benefits of having Colombia’s brightest new star on board.”

Tip the dealer O

ur seedy basement home poker games tend to descend into anarchy after a couple of hours, as alcohol consumption increases past a certain point and we start going all-in because we can’t be bothered to deal anymore.

Help is at hand with innovative new app Bold Poker. An iPad becomes the de facto dealer, removing the hassle of shuffling, and up to 12 players can view their hole cards on separate devices. Anyone without an iOS device won’t be able to play, of course, which raises the question of whether this is progress or another step towards an HG Wells-style split society in which weedy Apple users are hunted for meat by underground-dwelling Android owners.

Bold Poker, out now on iPad and iPhone, $1.99

08 | December 21 2012 |

Francisco Leong/AFP/Getty Images, PedroVilela/Agencia I7/AE, Aleksandar Dimitrijevic/EuroFootball/Getty Images

“Considering that he featured in a list that included Neymar, Mario Balotelli and Chelsea’s Oscar, it seems difficult to believe that Partizan Belgrade’s boy wonder was the only player to pick up an A in IBWM’s annual review, but that’s exactly how it happened. A bundle of explosive energy.”

Check out the full IBWM 100 at inbedwithmaradona.com

“PART JASON BOURNE...

PART DIRTY HARRY” JAMES MOTTRAM, TOTAL FILM

T U O K C O N K A S I E IS T-SEE ” U R C “TOMN THIS MUSDAY TREAT I

G BOXIN

IRROR DAY M N U S , S ADAM MARK

Radar Editor’s letter

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Storey maker: the feats of our elite athletes have taken the Paralympics on to a whole new level

2012: A sport odyssey Sport has taken us all on a wonderful journey in the past 12 months – but it shouldn‘t end here

S

o will it be a case of ‘Arise, Sir Bradley’ then? Not to mention Sir Dave, Sir Ben and Dame Sarah. And probably Sir Weirwolf too.

If the rumours are true, we will be awash with sporting knights and dames in the New Editor-in-chief Year honours list. Casting aside the issue of Simon Caney whether sporting success warrants such @simoncaney recognition (not to mention the idea of an honours system at all), these awards demonstrate what a year it has been.

It always promised to be epic, of course, but this time last year there were still plenty of people in this country – possibly even the majority – who were not looking forward to the Olympics. Many were actively opposed.

Of those who were looking forward to London 2012, nobody quite predicted what a triumph was on the horizon. Not just in a sporting sense – in a million years, we didn‘t expect three athletics gold medals in under

an hour – but also in the way the whole country came together. It was a wonderful, wonderful six weeks, part of a sporting summer we shall never forget.

There was much talk of ‘legacy‘, and in some senses 2012 has done a job already on that front. Paralympic sport, for example, is now taken seriously, thanks to the likes of David Weir and Sarah Storey. Gymnastics may now have a foothold on the sporting landscape and can only grow, thanks to Louis Smith and his teammates. Women‘s boxing is cool, thanks to Nicola Adams.

But there still needs to be real political action if 2012 is to be more than just a footnote in history. In 50 years, people should still be benefiting from what happened this year – but times are hard and sport may be sidelined as the Government revises its priorities. That would be a mistake.

This year showed the good sport can do.

It must never be forgotten.

No argument here over the outcome of Sports Personality of the Year. Bradley Wiggins was an overwhelming favourite, and rightly so.

Personally, I’d have liked David Weir and Mo Farah to make up the rest of the podium, but all 12 shortlisted (and many more besides) would have been worthy winners. I was fortunate enough to attend the after party, where Wiggins took to the stage with his guitar.

He is indeed a real personality.

Right folks, we’re off to gorge ourselves over Christmas – our next magazine will be on the streets on Friday January 11.

We do have a couple of iPad-only issues in the meantime, however, just in case you miss us terribly (and get an iPad for Christmas, as apparently millions of people will). All that remains is to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a great new year. Thanks for reading the mag and we’ll see you in 2013.

Editorial Editor-in-chief: Simon Caney (7951) Deputy editor: Tony Hodson (7954) Associate editor: Nick Harper (7897) Art editor: John Mahood (7860) Deputy art editor: William Jack (7861) Digital designer: Chris Firth (7952) Subeditor: Graham Willgoss (7431) Senior writers: Sarah Shephard (7958), Alex Reid (7915) Staff writers: Mark Coughlan (7901), Amit Katwala (7914) Picture editor: Julian Wait (7961) Production manager: Tara Dixon (7963) Contributors: Martin Barry Commercial Agency Sales Director: Iain Duffy (7991) Business Director: Kevin O’Byrne (7832) Advertising Managers: Steve Hare (7930), Aaron Pinto del Rio (7918) Sales Executive: Joe Grant (7904) Distribution Manager: Sian George (7852) Distribution Assistant: Makrum Dudgeon Head of Online: Matt Davis (7825) Head of Communications: Laura Wootton (7913) Managing Director: Adam Bullock PA to Managing Director: Sophia Koulle (7826) Colour reproduction: Rival Colour Ltd Printed by: Wyndeham Group Ltd © UTV Media plc 2012 UTV Media plc takes no responsibility for the content of advertisements placed in Sport magazine £1 where sold Hearty thanks to: Ellen Williams

Cover of the Year

Reader comments of the week

@molliepearse Twitter

10 | December 21 2012 |

Top 50 Sporting Moments in 2012 - no mention of the first all-Edinburgh Scottish Cup Final since 1896 and a 5-1 victory for Hearts.

What do they have to do to get a mention?

David, via email

@Sportmaguk Top 50 Moments of 2012 this morning is brilliant. What a year! You have much to live up to, 2013. I don’t fancy your chances.

@sportmaguk top 50 moments of the year got me through a tough hangover this morning.

Sport, best invention ever!

@Matthewcoy Twitter

@DanNCW Twitter

So #Paralympics more tweeted than #Olympics in 2012. Interesting stat and shows how incredible they were. From @sportmaguk

LAUNCH OF THE YEAR

2008

Total Average Distribution: 305,676 Jan-Jun 2012 Don’t forget: Help keep public transport clean

and tidy for everyone by taking your copy of Sport away with you when you leave the bus or train.

@MrJon_Miller Twitter

Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

Michael Steele/Getty Images

Top 50 sporting moments of the year in Sport mag this morning. Awesome @simoncaney

Frozen in time

12 | December 21 2012 |

Alfredo Escobar/Red Bull Content Pool

Going underground

Having strummed along to That’s Entertainment after last Sunday’s Sports Personality of the Year awards ceremony, here we find Bradley Wiggins continuing his bid to pay tribute to as many songs by The Jam as he can before the year’s out with a spot of subterranean cave-climbing. We jest, of course – the future Sir Wiggo was too busy bantering with his new pal Susan to get involved here, where we actually see 23-year-old Blass Sepulveda engaging in a spot of deep-water soloing in the Marble Caves of Chilean Patagonia. Feliz Navidad a todo el mundo!

| 13

2012: THe YeAR JANUARY 182 Days to go

“Jose mourinho was so good at making every player feel important, even if you weren’t in his plans. When you were as low as you could get because you weren’t playing, you’d go in and talk to him about it and he’d hit you with: ‘You’re playing at the weekend.’ And, like that, he’d defuse it and make you feel like you belonged. His man-management of everyone was superb.”

Seb’S OlYmpic pROmiSe

Lord Coe

lord coe started the year giving Sport readers a pep talk. Turns out he could walk the walk, too...

“There are just six months to go until the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, and I know Sport readers will be following our progress closely and looking forward to this summer of sport.

“We are on that vital last lap and, as our teams continue with the huge amount of work left to do, it’s worth outlining the sheer scale of what we are doing here. The Games is often described as the largest ever peacetime operation – and there are several good reasons for that.

“There will be around 10,000 athletes competing at the Olympic Games, and more than 4,000 coming to the Paralympic Games, from more than 200 countries. Each one of those athletes needs accommodation, feeding, transport to get them to their training venues and their competitions... and of course they need facilities in the Village, such as shops, medical facilities and gym equipment. There will be more than 7,000 anti-doping samples taken and over a million pieces of sport equipment bought, from hurdles to tennis balls. In the Olympic Village alone, we will serve 75,000 litres of milk during the Games. If laid out next to each other, the 64,000 bed sheets being used in the Village would cover the entire playing area at Lord’s Cricket Ground – our archery venue – more than eight times over.

“Around 20,000 media representatives will be here to report on the Games. Again, we need to provide them with office space, accommodation, food, transport, and information on every single athlete competing.

16-19 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Velodrome (test event) 20-26 18th Fina Visa Diving World Cup Aquatics Centre (test event)

March 3-10 British Swimming Championships Aquatics Centre (test event) 28-30 IOC’s final Co-ordination Commission visit to London

April 18 100 days to go 23 Men’s Olympic football tournament qualification play-off match City of Coventry Stadium (test event)

May 2-6 International Invitational hockey tournament Olympic Park (test event) 4-7 British University & Colleges Sport Outdoor Athletics Championships Olympic Stadium (test event) 8 London Disability Grand Prix Paralympic Athletics test event, Olympic Stadium 19 Olympic Torch Relay starts

June 21 London 2012 Festival starts

July 21 Olympic Flame arrives in London 25 First Olympic Games sports events Women’s football preliminary matches 27 London 2012 opening ceremony

| January 27 2012 | 31

Jim Lincoln

“We will sell about 11 million tickets to both Games – that’s more than the Athens Olympic Games in 2004, FIFA World Cup in 2010 and Euro 2012 combined. On the busiest day of the Games, our spectators will take around three million journeys on public transport. Over 40 million meals will be served from 40 locations to feed our spectators.

“At Games time, we will have a workforce of almost 200,000 – roughly the population of the city of York. Our website will have to cope with more visits than Facebook as people look up results and news from London. And, of course, billions of people will experience the Games at home – with a bigger TV audience than last year’s royal wedding tuning in to the opening ceremony in six months’ time. No pressure, then.

“But, as I said, there is much to do. There are more test events to hold. Our venues, though structurally complete, need those finishing touches that will turn them into Olympic venues – things like installing the timing technology, scoreboards and big screens. We need to train 70,000 or so Games Maker volunteers and we are still recruiting staff at a rate of hundreds per month. The Olympic Torch will soon start its 8,000-mile journey around the UK, carried by 8,000 torchbearers and coming within 10 miles of 95 per cent of the UK’s population. In June, the London 2012 Festival kicks off, a 12-week UK-wide celebration of arts, music and culture featuring some of the world’s biggest names.

“We couldn’t do this without our sponsors, providers and partners. But, most of all, we couldn’t do it without you – whether you are coming to a venue, watching at home on the TV with friends or taking part in some of the cultural events. This summer is set to be very special one indeed.

We will not let you down.”

Six months from today, the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games will have the world enthralled (hopefully for the right reasons). But there’s plenty of work still to be done, as Lord Coe explains...

Timeline 1942 Born Cassius Clay in Louisville, Kentucky, January 17

But you’ve experienced this first hand, right?

“Well, as an example, he was at my apartment for dinner one time, and for dessert we had vanilla ice cream with hot fudge sauce. Ali ate his, then he picked up his bowl and he licked it. Now, that was his way of making me laugh – he meant it as a compliment. If Mike Tyson had been here for dinner and licked his plate, you’d think: ‘God, what a pig!’ Ali could get away with that because he did it with a wink, but also because he had that something endearing about him. If Tyson did that with a wink, you’d still wash the dishes twice.”

You first met Ali in the 1960s. What were your earliest impressions of him?

“He was very entertaining; an articulate showman – and let’s not forget sports is basically entertainment. He was amazing both in and out of the ring. Things obviously got a lot more complicated when he joined the Nation of Islam and refused induction into the United States army. By then, he had been become recognised as a great fighter, but also as a very important social force.

“However, he wouldn’t have had the same impact if he hadn’t been a great fighter. The fact that he was heavyweight champion of the world, at a time when the heavyweight championship was the most coveted prize in sports, made people to listen him.”

Is Ali more famous now for his in-ring exploits or for his charisma, quotes and what we saw outside of the ring?

“My big concern today is that Ali is famous simply for being famous. People look at him and it’s hard for them to connect that with how good he was in the ring. They hear names like Sonny Liston and Joe Frazier and

George Foreman, but they don’t always understand how formidable those opponents really were. People also know that he stood up for his principles, but they don’t know precisely what his principles were. But Ali was hugely important in the 1960s. That’s when he made his greatest contributions – and when he was at his best as a fighter.”

So what was that impact in the 1960s?

“To fully appreciate it, you almost had to live through those times, and every day pick up a newspaper and see that there would be something about this man. When he burst on to the scene, an awful lot of black people thought it was better to be white. Reggie Jackson – the famous baseball player – said that to me. He told me: ‘Before Muhammad Ali, there were times when I was ashamed of being black – my hair, my skin – I really thought it was better being white.’ Of course, that’s not the case now, and Ali was part of that growth process for him. Every time Ali looked into the camera and said ‘I’m so pretty’, what he was really saying, before the phrase became fashionable, is ‘black is beautiful’. So he became a beacon of hope for oppressed people all over the world.”

radio, newspapers from all over the world. If someone wants to learn about him, they can.”

Lastly, of all Ali’s famous quotes, do you have a personal favourite?

“One thing that pops into my mind is not something Ali said, but that was said to him.

It was when he was king of the world: he was Muhammad Ali, heavyweight champion again after he beat George Foreman. He was on a shuttle flight from Washington DC to New York, the plane was getting ready to take off and the stewardess came over and said: ‘Mr Ali, please buckle your seatbelt.’ He looked at her and said: ‘Superman don’t need no seatbelt.’ She looked at him very sweetly and said: ‘Mr Ali, Superman don’t need no plane’ – which I loved. I’ve told that many times at public gatherings with Muhammad and he loves that story too – he really does.”

Alex Reid @otheralexreid

So does it worry you that Ali is heralded by a generation who might not fully understand what he really was or stood for?

“All I can say is that I feel I’ve done my part for history in writing Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times. And I suspect that, as time goes by, whether it’s 50 years from now or a hundred years from now, when people look back at this era, what Ali was will come into very clear focus. Now, when people look at Ali, it’s very hard to get by his present physical condition. We know that people love him, but it’s really hard to think of this person we see as the person he actually is.

“There are young people today who didn’t live through his time, but who have studied him historically and who get it, just like there are people today who get Abraham Lincoln.

You don’t necessarily have to have lived through a person’s time if you study the time of the person. And with Ali, we have the advantage of a lot of film footage, the TV,

30 | January 13 2012 |

1963 As 7/1 underdog, beats Sonny Liston to become heavyweight champion. Announces membership of Nation of Islam. Changes name to Muhammad Ali 1967 Refuses induction to the US Army, stating opposition to the war in Vietnam. Is stripped of title and boxing licence 1971 Having returned to the ring in 1970, Ali fights Joe Frazier in a bid to regain his title, losing his first pro fight 1974 Avenges loss to Frazier, then shocks the world by knocking out new champion George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle 1975 Defeats Joe Frazier in the Thrilla in Manila. Ali describes the fight as “the closest thing to dying” 1978 Suffers surprise points defeat to Leon Spinks. Wins back the title for a third time, aged 36, in a rematch 1980 Returns from a 1979 retirement to lose a one-sided fight to champ Larry Holmes 1981 Ends career with a record of 56 wins (37 knockouts), 5 losses 1984 Diagnosed with Parkinson’s syndrome 1996 Lights flame to start Atlanta Olympics 1999 Named BBC Sports Personality of the Century, claiming more than 50 per cent of votes cast

Chris Smith/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Muhammad Ali’s fame spans countries, races, age groups – why has he connected with such a diverse range of people?

“My sense is that the single unifying thing about Ali is that there’s a quality of pure goodwill about him. It isn’t quite as evident now because of his physical condition, but when he was healthier, it was so transparent.

He had a kind, loving face, in addition to being handsome. People just responded to him.”

| 31

mUHAmmAd Ali TURNS 70 Thomas Hauser, Ali’s friend and biographer, told us his favourite tale about The Greatest:

“One thing that pops into my mind is not something Ali said, but that was said to him. It was when he was king of the world: he was Muhammad Ali, heavyweight champion again after he beat George Foreman. He was on a shuttle flight from Washington DC to New York, the plane was getting ready to take off and a stewardess came over and said: ‘Mr Ali, please buckle your seatbelt.’

He looked at her and said, ‘Superman don’t need no seatbelt.’ She looked at him very sweetly and said: ‘Mr Ali, Superman don’t need no plane’ – which I loved.

I’ve told that many times at public gatherings with Muhammad and he loves that story too – he really does.”

14 | December 21 2012 |

GOldeN fORecAST

Kevin Pietersen’s brotherly love at the start of the year didn’t ring quite as true come the summer.

1960 Wins gold medal at the Rome Olympics.

Turns professional

Muhammad Ali turns 70 next week. He’s not boxed in 30 years, yet his popularity remains undimmed. We ask Thomas Hauser, his biographer, why Ali still holds the world in thrall

Scott parker gave us the lowdown on his old chelsea boss. Still, it’s not like they miss Jose...

Kp: THe TeAm plAYeR

Ali at 70

Still The Greatest

mOURiNHO’S SpeciAl TOUcH

14. Can Mark Cavendish do the double?

“In 2005, we were obvIously happy because we beat australIa In the greatest test serIes that’s ever been, but what’s magnIfIcent about thIs squad Is the longevIty of Its happIness. off the fIeld, all our doors are open throughout the hotel; the boys are In and out of each other’s rooms playIng fIfa, playIng cards, talkIng nonsense. It really Is a great club atmosphere, yet on the pItch the boys are brIllIantly professIonal.”

Kevin Pietersen

Standing firm Despite a tough start to his cricketing year, England batsman Kevin Pietersen tells Sport he’s in it for the long haul – and explains why this remains the best team he’s been a part of s beginnings go, Kevin Pietersen won’t be overly happy with the one he made to 2012. In the context even of England’s desperate first-Test defeat to Pakistan in Dubai, over within three days on a supposedly benign pitch, Pietersen had a nightmare: two poor shots, two solitary runs, and a good deal more than two words of criticism shot across his bows from an unforgiving press.

The manner of defeat may have shocked, the failure of the entire top order infuriated, but the performance of an improving Pakistan side came as no surprise to those who have followed their recent progress – Pietersen included.

“We’re going to have to have our wits about us against this team,” he admitted in an exclusive interview with Sport. “They are a fantastic cricket team with some special players. They have both batters and bowlers, they can win matches with either of them, and they have a lot of players in form right now.

“There’s no question that we’re going to have to play really, really well to win out here. On the subcontinent, we’ve only beaten Bangladesh in a Test series since 2001; we have three subcontinental tours in 2012 [including the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in the autumn], so this is a huge, huge year for us. It’s going to be a great test, but it’s a test I think this team needs.”

A

Ducks in a row On the albeit limited evidence available thus far, it’s also one this team looks dangerously ill-equipped to pass. Coach Andy Flower admitted his side looked underprepared

24 | January 27 2012 |

in Dubai, while wicketkeeper Matt Prior – one of only two men to even come close to coping with the mystery spin of Saeed Ajmal – confessed the 10-wicket defeat felt like “a slap in the face”. The second Test, which began in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, will reveal much about England’s capacity to learn from their mistakes – but Pietersen has a huge level of confidence in those around him.

“What this team has done very well in the past two years is concentrate all our time and energies into the next hour, the next session, the next day,” he says. “We don’t look backwards and we don’t look forwards, because that’s got nothing to do with what’s happening right now – and I think that’s what Andy Flower and [Andrew] Strauss have brought to the party. These guys want to keep things as simple as possible, but also make us work as hard as possible to improve; it’s the combination of those two that has been so successful.”

Pietersen didn’t appear to be working too hard as he carelessly holed out to deep square leg off the bowling of an inspired Umar Gul in the first Test in Dubai – but he doesn’t intend to let a couple of failures curb the momentum built in a stellar 2011. “At the end of 2010, when I went out to South Africa to work with [former coach] Graham Ford, it was to recapture all that I loved about cricket,” he recalls.

“I needed to go back to my roots and get all my ducks in a row, and I don’t think it’s any surprise that I averaged 73 last year. I had one big double-hundred against India, probably should have had another, and could easily have had a couple of hundreds against Sri Lanka. I’m looking forward to trying to continue that this year.” >

| 25

13. How many gold medals will Team GB win this summer?

When London first hosted the Games in 1908, the British team made the best of the sodden English weather to walk away with a hefty haul of 56 golds, 51 silvers and 39 bronzes. The inclusion of sports such as rackets – in which only seven competitors entered, each of them British – may have skewed the final medal table somewhat in the home nation’s favour, but when you’ve got your own empire you can get away with that sort of thing.

There will be no rackets this summer, but hopes are still high that Team GB’s collection of 19 gold medals in Beijing can be bettered. Sir Steve Redgrave is hedging his expert bets slightly in predicting 20 golds, while The Times has consulted a Dutch sports statistics company, Infostrada, to arrive at a more optimistic figure of 26 – and third place in the medal table behind the USA and China.

As for us? Well, we understand Redgrave’s cautious attitude when it comes to predicting British sporting success, but with home advantage to take into account, we’re expecting great things. At the Beijing Games, China’s gold medal record improved by 59 per cent on their 2004 total, while Australia improved by 76 per cent in Sydney in 2000. You have to go all the way back to the Helsinki Games in 1952 to find the last time a host nation failed to improve its performance on home ground.

So, in no particular order, here are Sport’s 26 most likely contenders for Olympic gold. Plus, because we’re optimists, one for good luck. And if all 27 come in, it should be enough to propel Britain up one place in the medal table from our record in Beijing – third place it is, then.

The London Olympics, July 27-August 12

Two missions await Mark Cavendish in 2012 – and the Manxman is convinced that completing both is more than possible. First up: defending the Green Jersey (awarded to the best sprinter) he won at the 2011 Tour de France. But while Cavendish had a well-drilled HTC-Highroad lead-out train to rely on last time out, this year he’ll be sharing his Team Sky support team with teammate Bradley Wiggins, who is targeting the overall winner’s Yellow Jersey. Will reduced resources limit his stage wins?

Six days after the Tour ends, Cav will be back on his bike and into another battle, to try and win Olympic road race gold. Britain dominated the World Championships last year, but did so with an eight-strong team. At the Olympics that’s cut to five – and one of those will be Wiggins, whose own priority in London will be the time trial, which comes four days later. But Cavendish has the talent – and the balls – to win it regardless and bring home the first gold medal of the Games.

Tour de France, June 30-July 22; Men’s Olympic Road Race, July 28 >

The Likely Lads AND Lasses Mo Farah – Athletics Jess Ennis – Athletics Phillips Idowu – Athletics Dai Greene – Athletics Ben Ainslie – Sailing Paul Goodison – Sailing Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson – Sailing Men’s four – Rowing Women’s double scull – Rowing Men’s lightweight double scull – Rowing Anthony Joshua – Boxing Nicola Adams – Boxing Louis Smith – Gymnastics Shanaze Reade – BMX Mark Cavendish – Cycling (road) Bradley Wiggins – Cycling (road) Emma Pooley – Cycling (road) Women’s team pursuit – Cycling (track) Men’s team sprint – Cycling (track) Men’s sprint – Cycling (track) Women’s sprint – Cycling (track) Rebecca Adlington - Swimming Keri-Anne Payne – Swimming (open water) Alistair Brownlee – Triathlon Helen Jenkins – Triathlon Team dressage – Equestrian Ed McKeever – Canoe Sprint

Paul Gilham/Getty Images, Michael Steele/Getty Images, Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Dates for your Olympic Diary February

Gareth Copley/Getty Images

Commence countdown

“We couldn’t do this without our sponsors, providers and partners. But, most of all, we couldn’t do it without you – whether you are coming to a venue, watching at home on the TV with friends or taking part in some of the cultural events. This summer is set to be a very special one indeed.

We will not let you down.”

| 25

We predicted britain would win 27 Olympic golds. They bagged 29. close, but – with the excuse that qualification wasn’t yet fully decided – which did we get right?

Mo Farah, athletics  Jess Ennis, athletics  Phillips Idowu, athletics  Dai Greene, athletics  Ben Ainslie, sailing  Paul Goodison, sailing  Iain Percy & Andrew Simpson, sailing  Men’s four, rowing  Women’s double scull, rowing  Men’s lightweight double scull, rowing  Anthony Joshua, boxing  Nicola Adams, boxing  Louis Smith, gymnastics  Shanaze Reade, BMX  Mark Cavendish, cycling  Bradley Wiggins, cycling  Emma Pooley, cycling  Women’s team pursuit, cycling  Men’s team sprint, cycling  Men’s sprint, cycling  Women’s sprint, cycling  Rebecca Adlington, swimming  Keri-Anne Payne, swimming  Alistair Brownlee, triathlon  Helen Jenkins, triathlon  Team dressage, equestrian  Ed McKeever, canoeing 

iN SPORT

ThE good, ThE BAd ANd ThE comicAllY iNAccURATE FRom 12 moNThs wiThiN ThEsE VERY PAgEs

FEBRUARY Asafa Powell

Bradley Wiggins

‘the games being in London won’t change how i PrePare for the season’

S

ome men are born leaders. Others have leadership thrust upon them. It wasn’t long ago that Bradley Wiggins featured in this second category – one filled with men waiting nervously for the moment they’re ‘found out’ (a la Kevin Pietersen overseeing England’s 0-5 ODI tonking in India, 2008).

Hired in 2009 to be Team Sky’s leading man, the triple Olympic gold medallist was positioned at the helm of Dave Brailsford’s hugely ambitious project to deliver a first British winner of the Tour de France. It’s a role Wiggins took time to settle into. But in coming through last season’s extreme highs (winning the biggest stage race of his career – the Dauphine) and gutting lows (smashing his collarbone on stage seven of the Tour), the 31-year-old proved beyond doubt he has the strength of character to do the job.

When Sport sits down with Wiggins ahead of his biggest season yet at Team Sky, he appears at ease with the ‘leaders’ jersey’ Brailsford handed him. Ahead of seven months in which he could propel British cycling to a new level of success in road racing, his timing is superb.

Changing man

Had there been a longer break, it becomes very difficult to juggle the recovery and the form. Last year in the Vuelta a España [where Wiggins finished third 10 days before winning silver at the World Championships time trial] I was getting better and better and I took that into the Worlds, so my form was just continually rising. This year it is unknown territory coming out of the Tour, but we know now that within nine days of a Grand Tour we can do a time trial and finish on the podium. It’s tried and tested. Whether it happens again is another thing, but that’s what we’re aiming to do.”

Asafa Powell’s first indoor season since 2004 brings him to Birmingham for the Aviva Grand Prix tomorrow, where he will be looking to prove he’s not out of the race for Olympic gold just yet... e has broken the 100m world record twice and run the most sub-10 second 100m races of any man in history. But Asafa Powell's sprinting career is, thus far, a failure. “I'm an underachiever right now,” he confesses when Sport meets him after his first race of the indoor season – a brief 50m foray in New York's Madison Square Garden.

With no major individual gold medal in his collection (the absence of the USA's sprinting prowess renders Powell's Commonwealth Games gold in 2006 relatively minor), the 29-year-old Jamaican is widely considered a flop on the world's biggest athletics stages. A flop who's now firmly in the shadows of the current world's fastest man, Usain Bolt.

But even before the bombastic arrival of Bolt, Powell was falling short of glory, having come in fifth at the Athens Olympics in 2004 and third at the 2007 World Championships. Then came Beijing. More specifically, then came a 6ft 5ins, 9.69s whirlwind blown straight in from an athletics club in the same Jamaican town where Powell had prepared for his second Olympics. His fifth place finish left him wondering whether maybe he just “isn't the guy for those big championships”.

But last year's World Championships brought a golden opportunity, with Bolt not at his best and Powell having recorded his fastest 100m time in three years (9.78s) two months earlier. Two days before the championships were due to start though, Powell announced his withdrawal with a groin injury, forcing him to watch from his hotel room as Bolt's untimely false start handed another fellow countryman, Yohan Blake, the title of world champion.

What now, then? What happens now Powell finds himself cast out from the elite sprinting triumvirate (Bolt, Gay and Blake) expected to be on the podium come August? Change – that's what. Powell's run in Birmingham is the second race of his first indoor season in eight years, but the addition of some wintry competition to his schedule is not the only thing Powell's changed since Bolt blew it last August...

H

Does the Olympic road race complicate matters? Will it be difficult to give your all for Mark Cavendish there knowing that three days later there’s a chance of your own gold medal in the time trial?

“It is a complication – and it isn’t. I have to start the road race. But I only have to turn the pedals – I don’t have to finish. That’s obviously not gonna happen though, because there will be a role for me to play that day and that will be to help Mark Cavendish win the gold medal.

What that role will consist of, at this stage, I don’t know – that’s for the management to decide and they will do so with the time trial in mind.”

Your 2012 season starts with the Tour of the Algarve [next Wednesday], are you confident of carrying over your good form from the end of last season?

“Its been the best winter I’ve had, actually. I’ve trained a lot harder than previous years and looked after meself better this winter. I used to let it all go and get fat, but as I’ve got older I’ve tried to get a bit more professional in that sense. I had a short break after the World Championships [last September] and then we were straight back on it again. The guys were pushing me and pushing me and we’re way ahead of where I’ve ever been at this time of year.”

Since Cavendish’s move to Team Sky was finalised, there has been speculation about whether the two of you can work together.

Was it ever an issue for you?

“I started talking to Cav about him coming to this team a year ago, in Qatar. It’s never been an issue because we have such a good relationship. It’s Cav coming back to where he really belongs.

It doesn’t feel any different from the World Champs, really. And I think what we did for him there – with no gain whatsoever for ourselves, no financial gain, nothing – was purely for him to win the Worlds. That says a lot about where we are as a group of riders. His move was something we always spoke about. From day one I’d say to him “you’ll end up here”. I knew from the Tour onwards that he was going to sign, so it was no big shock.”

Are you in the twilight of your career at 31, or can age actually be an advantage in the longer stage races?

“I think these are the best years – certainly for riding for General Classification [the overall winner]. Lance Armstrong was nearly 38 when he got third in the Tour, so I’ve got another five to eight years at my peak. A lot of it is the mental thing – whether you can keep up that intensity of training. That becomes difficult – it’s what cracks a lot of people. But I think you get stronger mentally as you get older. >

The Olympic time trial is nine days after the end of the Tour de France. How difficult will it be to recover in time?

“A lot of it depends on how you finish the Tour. But, in cycling terms, the proximity of the two competitions is actually a good thing.

Are you ready for a chilly Midlands blast then, Asafa?

[Smiles] “It's not so bad running indoors – it’s just when you're outside it’s so cold. But I’ll go there and do what I have to do. It's going to be cold and I'm not going to like it, but I’m there for business and I have to handle my business.”

Leader off the t Pack | 35

34 | February 10 2012 |

BRAdlEY who?

So, no more nights out?

“Definitely no more... well once in a while I'll go out, but no drinking and all that kind of stuff. I'm trying to make the sacrifice to see what can I do. I'm pushing myself to the limit, pretty much.”

When did you make the decision to change things?

“After what happened at the Worlds last year. I was in the best shape of all the guys – I had the best times. So it was painful for me to see what happened.

I didn't expect Usain to false start. I was expecting a close finish between Usain and Yohan. But he knew that he wasn't in the best shape of his life and he wanted to get out first. I think the pressure of knowing that it’s possible Yohan could beat him is what got the best of him.”

What's Stephen Francis, your coach, like with you? Does he bust your balls? “[Laughs] I've been with him since I was 18, so yes – he's always on my back because I've been there for such a long time and he wants me to do well. In his eyes I haven't achieved what he thought I could achieve, so he's been working hard and putting more pressure on me this year.”

In his eyes and in yours?

“Yes, in my eyes I know I can do a lot better, I can run a lot faster. But it's good when a coach has that kind of confidence in you. He came to me 11 years ago and told me that I can break the world record – and I didn't believe it at first, until I did it. So if he comes to me and tells me I can do something, then I really believe him.”

| 35

34 | February 17 2012 |

Jaime Reina/AFP/Getty Images

Which is not a bad way to begin an Olympic year...

“For me, I don’t see how this is different to any other year. Okay, the Games are in London, but I don’t think that should change how you prepare for the season – the impetus you put into it or the way you approach it mentally. Recognising the Olympics is in London and all the added things that’s gonna bring is only negative. It could be anywhere. It just happens to be in London, which for me is easier because I can go home after the Tour de France and just drive down the M6 to the Olympics. I don’t have to fly off halfway around the world to acclimatise to another country, so in that sense it’s good.”

Because Olympic year means business. But a few years ago, you admitted to not being “100 per cent a hard trainer”. Has that changed?

“I've tried my best to see how I can change. I've been attending practice, like, a lot... a lot. I haven't missed a training session since I started this season and I've been doing everything I'm supposed to do, so I think everything has changed – my attitude towards training and my attitude towards track and field. I'm getting older now and I haven't achieved what I set out there to do. So I have to be a man, to think mature. I'm an underachiever right now and I definitely want to achieve greater things in life.”

Steven Jackson

After a debut year that saw Team Sky flounder, Bradley Wiggins led them through a 2011 season that promised much. If his third year as team leader continues this upward trend, he could be collecting honours for team and country come the end of 2012...

PowEll’s PAiNFUl FoREshAdowiNg Asafa Powell had just one major worry ahead of the Olympics...

“Injuries have taken me out of most of the major championships over the years, so I just have to work on trying to stay healthy. If I stay healthy and I go out there and make my best performance and still don’t get it, then I’ll be happy. Once I get a personal best, I’ll still be happy because I can’t control what someone else does.”

Sadly for the Jamaican track star, it was the same old story in London, where he pulled up short in the 100m final with a thigh injury.

Leigh Halfpenny

current Welsh crop seems to boast an inner steel and, finally, a winning mentality – characteristics Halfpenny suggests have been forged in the squad’s now notorious pre-tournament Poland training camps.

Come on though, Leigh, seriously – how tough can it really be?

“Oh, it’s extremely tough,” he insists.

“It’s not easy at all, a very, very basic environment. The rooms you stay in are completely basic, the beds are hard, and the food is not very nice. At the most recent camp it was absolutely freezing too, snowing every day, and very harsh conditions. It’s mentally draining as much as it is physically; it can really get to you, but you have to try and overcome it.

“You’re really tested, both as individuals and as a team. At times during the camp you have to rely on other guys to bring you through and take you to the finish line, because you’re just so mentally and physically drained. But I think those are the moments that come through in situations like we had in that last play against Ireland.

We’re a close group, and in those highpressure moments we had the confidence in each other that we could still go and get the win.”

The fastest man on two wheels told us he was enjoying life as a relative unknown. Not for long, wiggo…

Wales full back Leigh Halfpenny has bounced back from World Cup disappointment to become one of the outstanding early performers of the 2012 Six Nations. Ahead of his side’s visit to Twickenham this weekend, he spoke exclusively to Sport

ack in October, 23-year-old Leigh Halfpenny stood just beyond the halfway line of Auckland’s Eden Park.

Almost 60,000 fans sat silent, waiting to see if the full back could kick the penalty that would secure an improbable but heroic win for 14-man Wales over France, thus carrying his team into a first ever World Cup final.

Halfpenny took a deep breath, then a short but determined look at the posts between which he was aiming, and struck for glory.

His kick had the direction, but fell agonisingly short, bringing to an end the dreams of a proud and rugby-mad nation.

“Since then, every single time I’ve prepared a kick in training, it’s been done to make sure that, if I had another opportunity like the one I had against France, I’d be able to nail it,” admits Halfpenny ahead of his team’s visit to Twickenham on Saturday.

“I didn’t really expect that chance to come

around so soon, as it did in Ireland, but I knew that was my time. I was obviously very nervous and my heart started thumping through my chest; but I took a couple of deep breaths to compose myself, and treated the kick like I would any other.”

The kick of which Halfpenny talks gave Wales a dramatic 23-21 victory in Dublin three weeks ago, a last-minute effort that saw Warren Gatland’s men start their Six Nations campaign with a(nother) vital win over Ireland. The full back stops short of calling it personally cathartic, but it’s perhaps no coincidence that he followed it up with a 22-point masterclass in the victory over Scotland back at the Millennium Stadium a week later. As a result, Wales head to Twickenham on top of a nascent Six Nations table, with Halfpenny the tournament’s top scorer.

“Going into the Six Nations on the back of two good Heineken Cup wins with the Cardiff

Saturday England v Wales | Twickenham | BBC One 4pm

Having notched 100 Premier League goals, Aston Villa and England striker Darren Bent talks to Sport about his Euro 2012 ambitions and why greed is good...

I

t’s been just over a year since Darren Bent’s £24m transfer to Aston Villa from Sunderland. He proved his worth almost instantly for his new club, scoring the winner on his debut against Manchester City and netting a further eight times in 16 games for the Villains last season.

This time around – under new manager Alex McLeish – has been a tougher test. Villa have become an organised, defensive unit with Bent often asked to play a more isolated role up front. But that hasn’t stopped him scoring nine times in 20 league starts, including the strike against QPR last week that made him the 21st member of the 100 Club – that prolific group who have bagged a ton of Premier League goals. His consistent scoring record even saw him linked with Liverpool in the January transfer window, but Bent is enjoying life at Villa and has his sights set firmly on Euro 2012...

You’ve been with Aston Villa for a year now, how do you think it’s gone?

“It’s been good. Obviously it’s been a bit hard this season, but we’re still playing quite well, still quite solid. The main thing is that we keep playing well, keep trying to progress and keep working hard, and it’ll get better.”

What are your personal aims for this year? Have you set yourself a target for goals?

“My main goal is to get into the European Championships squad for England. If I can play well and get selected for that, then that’s probably my first goal and hopefully that will happen. I never set myself targets for goals – I just try and score as many as possible and do as well as I can.” >

25 | February 10 2012 |

Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Are you happy with your own performances?

“Yeah, it’s not been too bad. Obviously you always want to score more goals, being a striker, because it’s the greed inside us. But, yeah, I’m happy with the way things have gone and hopefully it will continue for me.”

London caLLing And so to Twickenham tomorrow, where Wales have beaten England only once in Halfpenny’s lifetime. Despite this, and despite the Stuart Lancaster era beginning with two away wins, the bookies have the visitors as strong favourites.

“I think we have to relish that, you know?” says Halfpenny. “They’re a very young side with a lot of new players coming in; they’re obviously ambitious and very proud to be pulling on the shirt, and as a team they’ll be looking forward to coming home after having won away twice already. They’ve done well to get the results they have in tough conditions, especially in Italy, and we know it’s going to be a huge challenge. Twickenham’s a tough place to get a result; we’re going to have to play better there than we have done so far.”

Wales would welcome a repeat of Halfpenny’s first visit to HQ, when in his

recent move to full back. He smiles at the thought of himself as one of the senior members of the side, however.

“I remember in Poland we had a day off, so a few of us went for a walk round the town and stopped off in a restaurant,” he says. “I looked around at the group, six or seven of us, and realised that I was the oldest there. It hit me then that, bloody hell, I am one of the older guys in the squad. It shows how young some of this lot are, but the potential is huge – and hopefully we’ll be together for many years to come.”

And that is a thought to strike fear into the rest of world rugby, whether Wales win at Twickenham tomorrow or not.

Tony Hodson @tonyhodson1

Welsh rugby star Leigh Halfpenny gave us an insight into how hard those training camps really are...

“Oh, it’s extremely tough. The rooms you stay in are completely basic, the beds are hard, and the food is not very nice. At the most recent camp it was absolutely freezing too, snowing every day, and very harsh conditions. It’s mentally draining as much as it is physically; it can really get to you. At times during the camp you have to rely on other guys to bring you through and take you to the finish line, because you’re just so mentally and physically drained. But I think those are the moments that come through in situations on the pitch.”

JT? Vidic? Ryan shawcross? Nope, darren Bent told us ledley King is the toughest defender of the lot:

THE HUNDRED CLUB

Still only 23, Leigh Halfpenny is already one of only nine players in Welsh rugby history to have scored 10 or more tries and 100 or more points in Tests. Hats off to you if you know the other eight (answers are located bottom right)

camp fire Where once the disappointment of missing out on a World Cup final might have led to much soul-searching and infighting, the

dEAdlY lEdlEY

Darren Bent

PAiN iN PolANd

‘we’ve pLayed in ireLand and had a resuLt, so we have to beLieve we can do the same at twicKenham’

Blues, which qualified us for the quarter finals, was great for building my confidence,” he says. “But as a team I think we learned a lot about ourselves at the World Cup. “We were quite a young side in New Zealand, but the experience has brought us on leaps and bounds in terms of belief. This is pretty much the same squad as at the World Cup, so we’re all very close and know each other very well, both on and off the pitch – and I think that’s something we’re seeing in this tournament. We’ve bonded well and feel like a real unit, which is something that has come from both the ups and the downs at the World Cup. Losing to France was extremely disappointing, but I think it’s brought the best out of us.”

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

B

oLd hand Saturday’s game represents cap number 30 for Halfpenny, who in the absence of the now retired Shane Williams has become the old boy of a Wales back three now featuring the giant potential of George North (19, 6ft 4ins) and Alex Cuthbert (21, 6ft 6ins).

“They are both extremely fast and very strong, so playing with them gives me massive confidence,” says Halfpenny, who admits to relishing the greater involvement and extra space that has come with his

Answers: Shane Williams, Gareth Thomas, Ieuan Evans, Colin Charvis, Tom Shanklin, James Hook, Neil Jenkins, Arwel Thomas

“Mark [Cavendish] is in a different Category altogether to Me. i Can still wander through heathrow and no one bats an eyelid. that’s really niCe beCause i’M able to ConCentrate on My day job without any of the distraCtions, whiCh perhaps Mark has – photo shoots for Magazine Covers here and there, dinners and this sort of stuff. i’M quite happy in My own CoMpany, just getting on with it. everyone thrives and is driven by different things though – there’s no right or wrong way.”

KicKing King

debut season with the Blues he scored two tries in a 50-12 hammering of Gloucester in the EDF Energy Cup final. Less so his second, when he came off the bench in a 30-17 Six Nations defeat for Wales back in 2010.

“Mixed memories, I guess,” he recalls.

“It was a nice sunny day for the Blues, for a start, and pretty cold when I went there with Wales. That was one thing, but the crowd was basically even for the cup final as well. It certainly isn’t when you go there as an international, and that obviously creates a very different atmosphere... we’ve played in Ireland and had a result, though, so we have to believe we can do the same at Twickenham.”

“LedLey’s been very unLucky with injuries in his career, but when he’s fit he’s by far the hardest [defender] to pLay against. he’s quick and knows what you’re gonna do before you do it. he’s strong, good in the air, reads the game weLL and he’s big – so he’s got everything to be a top-cLass defender.”

Guess who

ANd ThE AwARds go To…

London hosts the Laureus World Sports Awards on Monday, so we tell you, with 100 per cent certainty, who will win

Sportsman of the Year Noble runners-up places

to Lionel Messi and Sebastian Vettel for being the planet’s outstanding footballer and driving the world’s fastest car (respectively), but we’re going for 2011’s three-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic to ace this with ease.

Sportswoman of the Year Taiwanese golfer

Yani Tseng has done her best Tiger Woods impression (circa 2000, rather than 2009), dominating her sport at age 22. However, we smell a tennis double is in the offing with Petra Kvitova perhaps sneaking this for her Wimbledon victory and all-round improvement.

Team of the Year England’s Test cricket team rose to world number one, while Barcelona had a passable 2011 (if you like big, shiny trophies). However, New Zealand’s rugby union team overcoming their ‘chokers’ tag to win a World Cup on home soil is going to snare this.

Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability It’s lazy to

Comeback of the Year Darren Clarke gets a nod for his Open win (and his comeback from a monstrous hangover to actually talk the next day), but it’s hard to overlook Barcelona’s Eric Abidal, who had surgery for a tumour on his liver in March, then played the full 90 minutes of their Champions League final triumph in May.

Breakthrough of the Year Petra Kvitova has a chance here if she doesn’t win the woman’s award, but we’re banking on one of a pair of Brits to deliver a home success: Rory McIlroy for his US Open victory or Mo Farah for his gold and silver at the World Championships.

The latter might just dip at the line for the win.

just pick world-famous ‘Blade Runner’ Oscar Pistorius, but becoming the first amputee to win a non-disabled World Championship track medal means he’ll pip it. Scottish triple gold-medallist David Weir has a strong case too.

Find out more at laureus.com

Ahead of the 12th annual laureus Awards, we predicted the winners, with mixed results...

Sportsman Of The Year “We’re going for 2011’s three-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic”  Sportswoman Of The Year “We smell a tennis double in the offing with Petra Kvitova”  VIVIAN CHeruIyOt Team Of The Year “Barcelona had a passable 2011, but New Zealand’s rugby union team is going to snare this”  (we were close) BArCeLONA Comeback Of The Year “Darren Clarke gets a nod for his Open win, but it’s hard to overlook eric Abidal”  (close again) DArreN CLArKe Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability “It’s lazy to just pick ’Blade runner’ Oscar Pistorius, but he’ll pip it”  Breakthrough of the Year “rory McIlroy for his uS Open victory or Mo Farah for his gold and silver at the World Championships. the latter might just win”  (yep, we were close) McILrOy | 15

MARCH CHARles in CHARge

Issue 249 | March 23 2012

When we asked him about staying on after the Olympics, then head of UK Athletics Charles van Commenee told us the medal target was make or break:

Hoy Story

“I lIve In four-year cycles, and a lot depends on success and faIlure. I may not have a choIce – If there’s no success, then there’s no place for me here. We are a very results-drIven busIness. I WIll not offer contracts to coaches before the Games because I Want to see the results fIrst, and that applIes to myself as Well… hIttInG the tarGet or not hIttInG the tarGet should have an effect on me as Well, because I have to lead by example.”

CHARLES VAN COMMENEE

Having set a target of eight track-and-field medals, with one gold, van Commenee stood by his promise and quit after a haul of just six medals at the Games – even though four were gold.

London 2012: FAILURE IS noT An oPTIon

“How important is it tHat robin stays?

Very important.

He’s tHe one wHo’s been making tHe difference. you need someone to put tHe ball in tHe net, and robin Has done it more tHan any otHer player in tHe league. i don’t know if you replaced Him How it would be, but we don’t want to be in tHat situation.”

Mikel Arteta

“Our season was over” Arsenal started this season badly and got worse, leaving new signing Mikel Arteta wondering if he should have stayed in the northwest. But he tells Sport things are looking brighter in north London now...

ikel Arteta has had just four hours’ sleep when he greets Sport. Not that you’d know it, for the hair remains perfectly coiffed, the stubble suitably designer. The Arsenal midfielder returned to London from Liverpool in the early hours of the morning having played all 90 minutes of the Gunners’ hard-fought (and some might say fortunate) 1-0 victory at his former home, Goodison Park.

“It was very emotional for me,” he says earnestly. “I spent the biggest part of my career playing there for Everton, so to get the reception that I got was very special. I thanked the chairman last night because I always said to him: ‘One day when I leave this club, please we have to do it the right way because I respect this club and love it a lot.’ And I really mean it when I say it.’”

After pausing to thank the obligatory PR character for delivering him a glass of water, Arteta moves swiftly on to talk about the club that prised him away from Everton. “For me it was a big move and I was so pleased to get it done,” he says. “I’ve always been a big admirer of Arsenal, of the tradition and the way they play football.”

M

Steven Peskett

INTO THE EYE OF A STORM But his arrival came amid a turbulent time for the Gunners – just three days after that mauling at Old Trafford. “It was a very difficult start to the season for the club, and I think the [8-2] defeat against Manchester United was probably the toughest point,” he reflects.

“Was there shock in the changing room? There was because, for a club like Arsenal to lose the way they did, it was difficult to take – and against a direct rival like United it was even tougher. They had sold some big players and then had a result like that – it doesn’t help the stability of the club.”

Ditto for getting steamrollered by AC Milan in the first leg of a Champions League last-16 tie: “For me personally, that game at Milan was the lowest time of this season. We didn’t play at the level that we should have played and we deserved to lose the game.

At 4-0 it was too much... though we nearly did it at home.” >

| March 30 2012 | 27

ARtetA On RVP Arsenal’s August deadline day signing made his thoughts on a certain dutch striker pretty clear:

nce you’re beat mentally, you might as well not go to the start line,” said American long-distance runner Todd Williams. It’s hard to find a better way to describe competing in the Marathon Des Sables (MdS), because mental strength is needed to even take part in the race. Imagine standing on the start line, preparing to cross 151 miles of the Sahara Desert in a week, and knowing you will be carrying your essential kit on your back the whole way. Now imagine standing on that same start line a further eight times. Rory Coleman doesn’t need to imagine. He’s done it...

Maddest race on earth

151 miles. Over six days. In temperatures pushing 120 degrees. The Marathon des Sables truly is the ultimate race, and Rory Coleman has taken it on an incredible eight times. Sport talks to the British runner ahead of his ninth Moroccan adventure

What possessed you to take on the MdS? “It all started for me back in 1997 when I saw Chris Moon – who was a landmine victim with one arm and one leg – complete the race.

I was planning 100 marathons in 1999, so I just decided one of them had to be the MdS.” And how does this compare to, say, someone taking on the London Marathon?

[Laughs] “It’s hard to explain. The MdS is like the Grand National of races. The London Marathon is one of the biggest things some people will do – and it’s an amazing race – but if you’re looking for the ultimate challenge, the MdS pushes you to the limits of endurance.”

How much of it is actually run?

“Some run the whole way, some will walk it.

I’ll probably run about 60 per cent of it. It’s hard to even try to run in some places because only 15 per cent of the race is on sand. The rest is through salt flats, stony ground, dry river beds, and we climb a 1,000m mountain.”

What are the biggest dangers for runners?

“The biggest problem is dehydration. A couple of years ago, somebody died from that. People think it’s the London Marathon in the sand, but it’s definitely not. It’s a very easy place to get into quite dangerous situations. We’re given 13 litres of water a day, handed to you in 1.5-litre rations at every 10km checkpoint.

If you run out between check points, it can get very uncomfortable.”

You’ve been there eight times now. You must have seen some pretty crazy things?

“I saw a couple of UK runners throw their passports away one year. They were trying to get rid of things out of their backpack to make it lighter and they inadvertently threw their passports away. People do crazy things when the core temperature goes too high.”

We PRediCt tHe UnPRediCtABle gOld CUP not all that accurately. Here’s what we said about the trio who came home at the front: 1st. Synchronised (8/1) “His jumping isn’t the slickest and this track might just expose that” 2nd. The Giant Bolster (50/1) “Lacks the class for this, and unlikely to be sighted come the finish” 3rd. Long Run (7/4 fav) “He will start favourite – and if his jumping holds up he won’t be far away” Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup: Runners and Riders

GoldEn dElicious Run over three and a quarter miles of undulating Gloucestershire countryside, the Gold Cup is the race to which the entire Cheltenham Festival builds. This year’s renewal looks like an absolute cracker, and it takes place today

S

o, it’s finally here. Three days of scintillating racing from Prestbury Park have been completed, leaving just seven races of the 2012 Cheltenham Festival to be decided.

Of those seven, however, one stands head and shoulders above the others: the Gold Cup, to determine which horse is the best staying chaser in the country, and thus the unofficial king of National Hunt racing.

And what a race we have. After all the rumours, doubts and scares, the great Kauto Star has been cleared to take part in his sixth (and probably final) Gold Cup by trainer Paul Nicholls. The two-time winner is a story all in himself, and with that in mind we have dedicated the third page in our big-race preview to a look back at his own special relationship with this race.

Before that, though, we take a look at every horse lining up to take its place in the 2012 renewal, with defending champion Long Run set to start favourite under amateur jockey Sam Waley-Cohen. It’s a fascinating race with any number of possible outcomes, and we’ve nailed our colours to the mast over to the right. If you want a genuine expert’s opinion, however, you could do much worse than read what Racing Post betting editor Paul Kealy has to say first. Best of luck with whatever you back, though – and enjoy the race.

Expert view with Paul Kealy of the Racing Post The legendary Kauto Star will raise the roof if he can land a third Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup at the age of 12, five years after winning his first – and the bookmakers certainly give him a major shot of doing so. Kauto, who made it five King George VI Chase wins at Kempton in December, is second favourite behind last year’s winner Long Run, but has beaten that one on both their starts this year.

The big worry is that, as he approaches retirement, the best chaser of his generation is beginning to look a little short of stamina for the Gold Cup trip. Long Run arguably has the best claims around Cheltenham, but though the pair are well above the rest in terms of form, this may not be a two-horse race – particularly with Long Run’s jumping remaining a worry.

Synchronised proved himself a proper Grade 1 horse when slamming Ireland’s best in the

Lexus over Christmas, and all he needs is a bit of cut in the ground to be a factor. But just as interesting is Nicky Henderson’s supposed second string, Burton Port (above, nearest), who almost beat stablemate Long Run on his return from more than a year off at Newbury in February. Though receiving 10lbs that day, he is entitled to improve for the outing, and is the value each-way shout against the big two.

Friday 3.20pm | Channel 4 and Racing UK

Kauto Star (183) Two-time winner needs no introduction, but no horse older than 10 has won the Gold Cup since 1969 – and Kauto is 12. Has the brilliant Ruby Walsh on board, and looked awesome in beating Long Run twice this term – but was a doubt for this until Monday.

Questions remain as to whether his old legs can get up the Cheltenham hill quite as fast as they used to.

The Giant Bolster (160) Another prone to the odd jumping howler, but he hosed up in a competitive handicap at the track in January and looks well suited to his new front-running tactics.

Lacks the class for this, however, and unlikely to be sighted come the finish.

Burton Port (Official rating 166) Nominally trainer Nicky Henderson’s second string, but the eightyear-old returned from a 16-month layoff with an encouraging second behind stablemate Long Run at Newbury last month. Second in the RSA Chase (finishing ahead of Long Run) two years ago, Burton Port is a strong stayer who could well put it up the big two in the straight.

Knockara Beau (147) Likeable big chaser that has shown a penchant for flying up the aforementioned Cheltenham hill in the past, but the nine-yearold has never looked up to this class and is set to start at long odds for a reason. One to be discounted.

The Midnight Club (145) Twice placed in two previous visits to the festival, so likes the track, but The Midnight Club is the lowest-rated horse in the field and is using this primarily as a warm-up for next month’s Grand National.

Expect to see us mention him in much more excitable terms then.

Captain Chris (164) Eight-year-old chaser that won last year’s Arkle Chase over two miles and was third behind Long Run and Kauto Star in this year’s King George. Jumped violently right-handed on this track last time out, though, and at the time of writing looked more likely to run in the Ryanair Chase on Thursday.

Long Run (182) Reigning champ that should be approaching his peak as a sevenyear-old, but has been done over twice by Kauto Star this season amid concerns about his jumping – and not everyone was impressed with his win over Burton Port at Newbury last time. That’s open to discussion, but he will still start favourite – and if his jumping holds up he won’t be far away up the run-in.

Time For Rupert (153) One of many horses to run second behind Big Buck’s over hurdles at Cheltenham, much was expected for his switch to fences last season – but, after an encouraging start, things have gone a bit awry.

Did beat The Giant Bolster at Newbury in December, but that ain’t the form he needs to be challenging for this.

Carruthers (151) Hennessy Gold Cup winner at Newbury in November and finished fourth in this race two years ago, but managed only ninth in the big one 12 months ago and was pulled up in the Welsh National last time out.

Not wanting for enthusiasm, but a bit short on class.

Midnight Chase (163) Ten-year-old that absolutely loves Cheltenham and hacked up in the Argento Chase (a recognised trial for this race) last time out.

That form gives him an each-way chance and he may get his own way out in front for a circuit, but he managed only fifth in this race last year and will probably fill about the same spot again.

Weird Al (164) Has benefited from the move to Grand Nationalwinning trainer Donald McCain’s stable this year, and wasn’t far behind Kauto Star and Long Run at Haydock in November. Hasn’t been seen then, but runs best fresh and has been aimed at this all season.

Each-way potential, even though he was pulled up in this last season.

HOy Meets WORld the cycling knight told us about the British camp’s secret weapon:

“I would say that [head coach] Shane Sutton is probably the single most important person in the whole building – more than any rider, member of staff, anybody.

He’s this force of nature, really, like a cross between Mick Dundee and the coach in Rocky, you know?

When he’s on your case, though, he’s the worst person… you can be coming to blows, virtually, but at the end of it you’ll often step back and say he was right, that he was only getting at me because he was trying to help me improve.

You always know where you stand with Shane, but he’ll fight to the death for you.”

Nani

Find out how to train for the Marathon des Sables at ultrarace.co.uk or rorycoleman.co.uk

18 36| | March 30 2012 |

We asked the new england rugby captain Chris Robshaw how he celebrated his first cap as skipper...

“I knew you’d ask that,” he laughs.

“I actually celebrated my fIrst cap as captaIn wIth wIne gums and a packet of skIps at the aIrport. we were on a chartered flIght straIght back after the game, so there was no tIme to celebrate. we got back pretty late and, even worse, I ended up dIggIng my car out of the snow at about 1.30am. that’s about as rock and roll as It gets for me.”

Do you aim for a time?

“That’s not the idea. Race director Patrick Bauer likes to point out that the race is more about crossing a desert while staying mentally strong and proving you can look after yourself.

We know who’s going to win – the Moroccans do every time – so for most people, winning is just finishing.”

Mark Coughlan @coffers83

“I saw a couple of UK runners throw their passports away one year. They were trying to get rid of things out of their backpacks to make it lighter and they threw their passports away.

People do some crazy things when the core temperature gets too high.

We’re given 13 litres of water a day, handed to you in 1.5-litre rations at every 10km checkpoint. If you run out between check points, it can get very uncomfortable.”

16 | December 21 2012 |

Up close and personal with England rugby’s new captain

Scott Heavey/Action Images, Alex Livesey/Getty Images, Silks courtesy of the Racing Post

Pierre Verdy/AFP/Getty Images

Ahead of the 151-mile Marathon des sables, we asked nine-time runner Rory Coleman about the craziest thing he’s seen:

O

CHRIS ROBSHAW

Are you reading, Arsene…?

Marathon des Sables

MARAtHOn MAdness

CAPtAin CHRis

Issue 247 | March 9 2012

Sir Chris talks exclusively to Sport

China Rock (152) Irish challenger that travelled well for a long time in the 2011 renewal, then weakened tamely before the home turn and eventually pulled up. Has only been seen twice since, neither time to much effect, and cannot really be considered a genuine challenger.

Quel Esprit (160) Pick of the Irish challengers, and has to be respected coming from the ultra-strong stable of Willie Mullins.

The eight-year-old has come good with three wins from three starts this season after a series of falls (including at Cheltenham) in his novice campaign, but his rating of 160 leaves him well short of the big boys. Place chance at best.

What A Friend (165) Part-owned by Sir Alex Ferguson, so in theory should look absolutely terrible but still win – and his fourth in this last year, beaten only 11 lengths, gives him a good shout. Looks a tricky ride at times, however, and hasn’t always convinced with his jumping.

Diamond Harry (160) Very talented nine-yearold that looked like a potential star when holding off Burton Port in the 2010 Hennessy, but has never looked entirely happy at Cheltenham and is a fragile sort that trainer Nick Williams has withdrawn late a couple of times already this season. Would take a leap of faith to back him.

Synchronised (167) Welsh National winner in early 2011 that belied his reputation as a heavy-ground, long-distance slogger by winning the Grade 1 Lexus Chase in Ireland by a street over Christmas.

Will have the benefit of the legendary AP McCoy in the saddle, but his jumping isn’t the slickest and this track might just expose that.

The Verdict The heart says Kauto Star and the head says Long Run, but neither look great value at the likely prices, so we’re tempted to take them on.

And, in a rare display of accord with our expert tipster, we’re going for Burton Port to upset the big boys – he’ll need to improve on his comeback run at Newbury, but the vibes have been good and he’ll run to the line.

An each-way steal.

nAni’s stAtUe

On a wing and a prayer

Our conversation with the Man Utd winger led us off on a strange tangent...

with nine league games to go and tension in Manchester ratcheting up, Sport talks to nani about his team’s title runin with the noisy neighbours, that statue and befriending Mike Tyson – with a little help from an unexpected source

So, should we call you Luis or Nani?

“Nani is fine.” [“It’s Nar-ni,” says the agent, laughing. “It’s Nar-ni, not Nanni. You always get it wrong.”]

Who does? I do?

[The agent: “Everyone in England, you say Nanni, but it should be Nar-ni – it should be softer.”]

Well, apologies for that. Luis, is it fair to say that Manchester United are now favourites for the title race?

“I guess, erm, I think both teams are still the favourites. We are both still going for the title and we have to see because there are still games to go and I still feel that it will go right to the last day of the season.”

But United have the lead and what looks to be the far easier run-in. Do you look at City’s fixtures and look at where you think they might drop points?

“Yeah, we think about this, but sometimes it is not where you think they might drop them. They have some difficult games coming, but so do we. We have to be focused on what we have to do – we have to think about winning those games.

We don’t want to slip up, but you never know in this league.”

32 | March 23 2012 |

Has Alex Ferguson demanded more goals from you? You’re 11 in 40 this season, one less than in 54 games last season... “Of course, he asks to score more goals and give more assists, we all want that if it helps us win the title.

But the most important thing if you give a choice: win the title or score more goals, I would say win title.”

Because you recognise it’s a team game? “Yes. No, no, no. Because when I go to my house and I go inside my trophy room, I see my... player... me...

[Struggling to find the correct word in

ere are six words we never expected to type: thank god for the football agent. Now this is not an easy claim to stand up, we admit, and we have extensive first-hand experience of football’s Mr Fifteen Percenters being among the most obnoxious cabal of characters you could ever hope not to meet – slick shysters leeching their livelihoods from moneyed young men and making estate agents and City bankers seem like walking saints.

It’s no exaggeration to say that the reason you will rarely hear an interesting word from a footballer is not because they have nothing interesting to say (although that is, for a large number of them, true), but because as soon as they attempt to engage their brain, the agent has a quiet word and, at the end of the day, y’know, normality is, if you like, resumed.

But thankfully, every so often, along comes an agent who gives their trade a good name.

We found one just last week in Manchester, sitting on the shoulder (not literally) of Luis Carlos Almeida da Cunha, better known as Nani, the Manchester United winger.

Most agents go out of their way to censor their clients and encourage them to keep their answers brief and disingenuous.

But not Nani’s. Not Barbara Vara.

She took the opposite approach, poking the player until he said something worth writing down and revealing more than the giant narcissist (all will become clear) might have ordinarily wanted. It started with a handshake and an easy opener...

H

You say you think it will go to the final game, but the whole season could well hinge on the derby game at the Etihad on April 30.

[The agent laughs; Nani exhales loudly with a smile on his face] “It’s very, very difficult to go there with so much to play for, but if you want to win the title then you have to believe you can go anywhere and and win – and we have to believe we can do that, otherwise you have no chance. Do I believe we can go there and win? Yes, because it’s on the fixture list in black and white, so we have to believe we can win. Otherwise, well, what would be the point?”

Do you enjoy derby games, or is there too much pressure for that?

“Yes, I feel I can enjoy all the games against City because there is a good atmosphere and for the players that gives you more motivation. You want to play, you want to feel it and you want to win, so yes – there is pressure, but for me it’s nice.”

For much of your time at United you’ve been up against Chelsea in the title race. Is it more or less enjoyable to be up against a team from your own city?

“I think it’s maybe a bit harder, because I think you feel more close, and of course we don’t want them to win the title. To lose it would be very bad, but to lose it to the other team from the city? No. Not good.”

Do you encounter many City fans in your day-to-day life? And are they as noisy as your manager claims?

“Do I see any? [“No!” laughs his agent.] No. I barely see any of them. I hear they have more fans in the city, but I haven’t seen many of them.”

How would you evaluate your own form this season?

“I think I did well since the start of the season, playing good football, scoring goals, assists, doing good – but it went a bit down when I got my foot injury [against Arsenal] and it takes time to recover and get back to where you were. But I am getting there. I want to finish the season as well as I started it.”

Has Alex Ferguson demanded more goals from you? You’re 11 in 40 this season, one less than in 54 games last season...

“Of course, he asks to score more goals and give more assists – we all want that if it helps us win the title. But the most important thing if you give a choice: win the title or score more goals, I would say win title.”

John Peters/Man Utd via Getty Images

Issue 246 | March 2 2012

Because you recognise it’s a team game?

“Yes. No, no, no. Because when I go to my house and I go inside my trophy room, I see my... player... me...” [Struggling to find the correct word in English, Nani starts talking Portuguese to the agent. Laughing, she suggests: “It is a statue, a little Nani, you know?”] >

| 33

English, Nani starts talking Portuguese to the agent. Laughing, she suggests: “It is a statue, a little Nani, you know?”]

Ah, the statue. We thought this was an urban myth. Is it really in the middle of your living room? “Yes, but it is only small.” [The agent interrupts. “It is quite big though - not quite lifesize, but big.”] “It is not so big.”

And it’s marble? “Yes. It is where I put my medals, around his neck, to have on show. So, to be able to add another title, that would be beautiful.”

∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙

Chro n o gra p h Wo r l d Ti m e Alar m Back- l i g ht 10 B a r Wate r R e s i s t a n ce Fro m t h e N a i ro b i Co l l e c t i o n PV 4 0 0 5 X1

APRIL No APRIL fooL

Issue 253 | April 27 2012

Andy Murray talked big about his improvements. A Wimbledon final, olympic gold and US open triumph later proved it was more than just hot air...

“My gaMe’s Moved on a lot. I’ve got quIcker and stronger and defInItely understand My gaMe Much better. I feel lIke I’M a Much better player, but that’s because the gaMe has Moved on as well... the ball Is quIcker now, the guys are MovIng faster, It’s just got tougher. the player I aM today would wIn agaInst the guy I was a few years ago.”

LET’S GO TO WORK Andy Murray sets his sights on a summer of glory and gold

“We pretty much smashed every single one of our routines. I was just trying to keep the team relaxed. I’m quite a joker in the gym, so I’ll crack jokes or take the mickey out of people now and again to make things a bit more relaxed — more like a training environment, so they enjoy the competition a bit more.

And the boys coped really well.

They were a bit nervous on the first apparatus, then after that they got into the swing of things.

We proved we have the potential to do really well in London; it’s just about if we’re all fit and whether the team can shut out the rising expectations and concentrate on what they need to do instead of buckling underneath the pressure.”

Louis Smith

No guts, E no glory

verybody has bad days. Those days when getting out of bed in the morning feels like the biggest mistake you’ve made all day. Louis Smith is having one of those days when Sport meets him at the Huntingdon gym which has been his second home since the age of seven.

“I’ve got a cold,” he explains gruffly after a coughing fit interrupts our initial greeting.

But there’s no duvet day on the agenda for the Olympic bronze-medallist. He has just finished a lengthy training session and is now beginning an equally draining session of interviews.

“Right now I wouldn’t mind being in bed recovering,” he sniffs as we take our seats in the gym’s cramped back office, with its faint whiff of old socks. “But I came in and trained even though I’m under the weather.

It just shows what we have to put in to get the best out.”

After 16 years of circling the pommel horse, Louis Smith is feeling the pain. But he’s not letting that stop him in his bid for Olympic gold…

No holding back That includes pushing through the pain barrier. Last month Smith fractured a finger in training, casting doubt over his Olympic preparations. But the 23-year-old had it strapped up and got straight back on the (pommel) horse, competing in a World Cup in China and winning a silver medal for his pains. “I wouldn’t say the injuries get me

down,” he says. “They get on my nerves, though. I just think it’s normal now for my back to be sore in the morning and that I can’t move too fast when I get out of bed because my ankles are sore. But it’s life.

I don’t know if it’ll get worse when I finish gym or if it’ll get easier when I stop.

“There’s not one point to this day, though, when I’ve regretted training as hard as I have been. It’s taken me on a journey that not many people would understand or get to experience.”

A hard road It’s a journey which took a largely unexpected turn when Smith won bronze in Beijing, becoming the first Brit to win an Olympic gymnastics medal since 1928. This time, though, he admits: “There’s definitely more pressure and expectation — not just with me, but the whole team.”

Those expectations were almost crushed when the British men failed to qualify for London 2012 at the first time of asking at last year’s World Championships in Tokyo. It meant a Christmas of hard graft in the gym for Smith and his teammates before January’s Olympic test event in London’s O2 arena, at which they comfortably beat France to win the event and qualify in style. “We pretty much smashed every single one of >

| April 27 2012 | 35

They SMAShed IT Men’s gymnastics team captain Louis Smith was positive after olympic qualification – rightly so, after their bronze success in the summer.

TRUMP geTS ShIRTy

Judd Trump

Ahead of the World Championship, snooker hotshot Judd Trump responds to criticism of his supporters by Australia’s Neil Robertson:

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Six weeks prior to euro 2012, england had no manager.

In our assessment of the candidates, we obviously foresaw the stellar job Roy hodgson would do. What? oh...

England expects glenn Hoddle Unfinished business for God’s ambassador on earth, who hasn’t managed anyone since Wolves in 2006 but has refused to rule himself out, or in, where England is concerned. Memories of what could have been in 1998 still linger, and Hoddle had an impressive win ratio (60.7 per cent) last time out. Mind you, Capello’s was even better (66.7 per cent), and we all know how shit he actually was.

paul lambert A bloody Scot?! Well, the best managers are, and this Scotch stereotype has masterminded Premier League safety with ease while never once raising a smile. An ability to make seemingly substandard players perform well above their station would be very useful come the summer.

Highest-placed manager of the promoted clubs, therefore edges ahead of the equally impressive Brendan Rodgers.

stuart pearce Slipped into Capello’s sheepskin for the Holland friendly, a 90-minute chastening that convinced Pearce he’s not right for the job – and confirming to everyone else what we already knew. Still in contention by virtue of being a forelock-tugging company cat, and could well be teamed with Hodgson (see next entry) by virtue of England having no better alternative.

roy Hodgson In West Brom’s 11 games since Capello walked, cuddly uncle Woy’s side has taken a not-unimpressive 19 points from 33.

He remains a safe pair of hands, in other words.

And yet, as at Anfield, the man’s jowly face just doesn’t quite fit.

File under ‘E’ for ‘emergency’.

alan pardew Drubbed 5-0 by Tottenham in the first game after Capello departed, Pardew’s claims were expected to quickly fade. And yet six successive victories have put Newcastle three points ahead of Spurs in the Champions League chase. So, let’s keep it simple: whoever wins that race can have the England job.

Harry redknapp In the 10 games since Capello walked and ‘Arry swerved heavy bird for tax evasion, Tottenham have taken a paltry nine points from 30. So he’s not the Messiah and has appeared powerless to halt Tottenham’s slide south, with question marks again raised over his tactics – or lack of them. A manager with no Plan B? Cut from the Capello cloth in that sense, so still top of the FA’s list.

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By LAWrence DALLAgLIO

W

ith over a year to go until the British and Irish Lions head to Australia, competition for places is already fierce. Having been on two Lions tours, Lawrence Dallaglio knows what it takes to make the grade – so we asked him one simple question: “If you were picking your team to face Australia tomorrow, who would it be?” Over to you, Lawrence…

In West Brom’s 11 games sInce capello Walked, cuddly uncle roy’s sIde has taken a not-unImpressIve 19 poInts from 33. he remaIns a safe paIr of hands, In other Words. and yet, as at anfIeld, the man’s joWly face just doesn’t fIt. fIle under ‘e’ for ‘emergency’.

18 | December 21 2012 |

Rugby Union

My Lions XV

Eleven weeks since Fabio Capello walked, six weeks until Euro 2012 kicks off, and still England have no manager.

No rush, obviously. But who are the names in the frame as it stands now?

Julian Finney/Getty Images, Clive Brunskill/Getty Images, Clive Rose/Getty Images, Clint Hughes/Getty Images, Alex Livesey/Getty Images, Gareth Copley/Getty Images

hodgSoN dISMISSed

| 19

1 Loosehead prop Gethin Jenkins (Wal) — I was so impressed with his comeback after injury because he came straight into a big game and totally dominated. He’s also a great tourist, which helps, and seems to play his best rugby abroad. He will thrive for the Lions down under.

10 fLy haLf Rhys Priestland (Wal) — It’s a straight choice between Jonny Sexton and Priestland at the moment, but the Welshman just has that added attacking dimension with the individual threat he possesses. He didn’t have a great Six Nations, but he’s a player that impresses me with his composure and will get better every game.

3 TighThead prop

LIoNS WhIMPeR

Dan Cole (Eng) — Another tight one because Adam Jones has been great, but Cole has been a standout performer.

He demolished Ireland’s scrum, got the better of the French in Paris, and just looks totally reinvigorated under Stuart Lancaster. He’s going from strength to strength.

4 Lock Paul O’Connell (Ire) — O’Connell is really back to his best form, and his absence in the Six Nations cost Ireland badly.

He’s a dominant player in the second row who gives you that extra leadership quality alongside Sam Warburton.

5 Lock Richie Gray (Sco) — Scotland had a poor Six Nations, but Gray’s workrate and set-piece work really stood out. He tries to open his legs up whenever he gets his hands on the ball, and he’s constantly involved in the game.

Post-Six Nations, Lawrence dallaglio told us his projected Lions team for next summer. So, how have the big man’s chosen few performed since?

1. Loosehead prop: Gethin Jenkins (Wal) 2. Hooker: Matthew Rees (Wal) 3. Tighthead prop: Dan Cole (Eng) 4. Lock: Paul O’Connell (Ire) = 5. Lock: Richie Gray (Sco) = 6. Blindside flanker: Stephen Ferris (Ire) = 7. Openside flanker: Sam Warburton (Wal, captain)

workrate. He breaks the line virtually every time and always seems to be on the front foot.

9 scrum haLf Mike Phillips (Wal) — A fantastic player. I’d still like him to move the ball a bit quicker, but he has the ability to make matchwinning plays. In fact, that’s it — he’s a matchwinner.

He really bosses and controls his forwards too.

2 hooker Matthew Rees (Wal) — The Six Nations wasn’t really a tournament for hookers, and it’s such a key position.

This is a tough one, but Rees is so crucial to Wales in a really technical and tactical position that he’d be my choice. He has great experience and ability.

6 BLindside fLanker Stephen Ferris (Ire) — This is an incredibly tough decision because Tom Croft and Dan Lydiate have both been superb, but Ferris gives the team a huge physical presence and he just never stops running. He’s a really good tourist, so the sort of man made for the Lions.

7 openside fLanker Sam Warburton (Wal, captain) — My natural choice at openside and as leader. He’s phenomenal around the park and has the ability to drive Wales on for years, as Richie McCaw has done for the All Blacks. His try-saving tackle on Manu Tuilagi was a tournament-winning moment.

8 numBer eighT Toby Faletau (Wal) — This time last year I’d have said Jamie Heaslip, but Faletau has done fantastically well in the last 12 months and epitomises the Welsh forwards’

11 LefT Wing George North (Wal) — There were a few good wingers in the Six Nations, so this one is tough, but his impact this year alone has put North in the first-choice position for the wing. He’s such a powerful presence in the way John Kirwan once was. He has that ability to explode into the line, and was one of the finds of the Six Nations.

12 inside cenTre Jamie Roberts (Wal) — Another powerful centre, but he’s not only big and powerful — he’s very skilful, too.

He proved on the last Lions tour that the big games bring out the best in him, so I’d definitely have him at 12.

13 ouTside cenTre Manu Tuilagi (Eng) — One of very few Englishmen in my team. He has made a big impression on the international stage in a short space of time – and, more importantly, he has given England the go-forward they’ve needed.

14 righT Wing Tommy Bowe (Ire) — He’s got a great knack of scoring tries and being in the right place at the right time. All you want from a winger is someone who can score tries, and Bowe has proved he’s that man time and time again.

15 fuLL Back Rob Kearney (Ire) — He’s come back in great form after an injury lay-off, has put in some virtuoso performances and has been so solid under the high ball. He always looks for the opportunities to counter-attack and has a good kicking game as well.

All photography Getty Images

18 | April 20 2012 |

“I just think it’s jealousy, really. I’ve had a lot of the limelight over the past year, and other players don’t really like that. For him to do that, there was no real reason for it. I think because I beat him in a couple of big tournaments, he just didn’t like it and he wanted to have his say about it. He wouldn’t have said that to someone like Ronnie [O’Sullivan], and Ronnie gets 10 times more support than I do.”

Lawrence Dallaglio was talking to Mark Coughlan. The Dallaglio Flintoff Cycle Slam 2012 is proudly supported by Virgin Media.

See www.dallaglioflintoff2012.com

38 | April 27 2012 |

8. Number eight: Toby Faletau (Wal) = 9. Scrum half: Mike Phillips (Wal) 10. Fly half: Rhys Priestland (Wal) 11. Left wing: George North (Wal) 12. Inside centre: Jamie Roberts (Wal) 13. Outside centre: Manu Tuilagi (Eng) 14. Right wing: Tommy Bowe (Ire) 15. Full back: Rob Kearney (Ire) =

| 39

MAY Mo Farah

F Fly Mo Mo

Allyson Felix

o hard or Go hoMe is Mo Farah’s motto. It’s what he keeps rolling around his head when he’s hot-footing it around the dusty trails of Iten in Kenya, logging up the high altitude miles and sharpening the devastating kick of pace that has become his calling card in recent years.

“It means train hard, give your all and then you can go home, rest up and chill out with your family,” he explains to Sport when we meet on a sunny afternoon in Regent’s Park.

He’s in ‘chill out’ mood today, accompanied by six-year-old stepdaughter Rihanna – who meets Farah after any race he doesn’t win with the words “You lost! Whhhyy?” – and wife Tania, who’s expecting twins at the end of September. “It was always going to be a big year,” says Farah. “Now it’s even bigger.”

While his family’s presence brings contentment, there is a simmering sense of frustration about Farah. It’s not long since his return from Istanbul and the World Indoor Championships, where a fourth-place finish in the 3,000m meant Farah had been beaten in four consecutive races – hardly the ideal start to an Olympic year.

“I’m very disappointed,” he says. “It’s not what I wanted because I was hoping I could go out there and win it. When you get the taste of winning, you just want to keep winning – you don’t want to lose races.

But finishing fourth is not a disaster. I just have to pick myself up from it. If it was an Olympic event like the 5,000m or 10,000m, I’d be worried. But it’s not.

“It took me a few days to put it into perspective.

But, you know, as an athlete what makes you a champion is when you hate losing no matter what it is – you want to win everything. That’s the difference. That’s how I approach every race.

Whether it’s 1,500m or 3,000m, I want to win things.

So Istanbul was disappointing, but it shows you I can’t take anything for granted.”

G

PLaYING The PerCeNTaGeS You’d be hard pushed to find anyone who doubts the dedication and focus of Farah. Even the notoriously tough-to-impress head coach of UK Athletics, Charles van Commenee, labelled him “the complete athlete” at the start of the year. >

Allyson Felix is not hAppy The 26-year-old American sprinter may be the only woman in history to own three world 200m gold medals; she may also be at the start of a season in which she could potentially win as many as four Olympic golds; and she may be sitting opposite Sport in a London hotel, smiling broadly as she sips on an early-morning orange juice. But that doesn’t mean she’s happy.

“I’m sure for any athlete, what’s most important is winning that individual gold at the Olympics,” she says. “And, for me, that’s what this year’s Games is all about. Anything less than that would be a disappointment.”

And there you have it. For all her achievements on the world stage – Felix has racked up an impressive eight gold medals in four World Championships appearances, becoming the youngest 200m world champion ever in Helsinki in 2005 – the Californian won’t be satisfied until she adds an elusive first individual Olympic title to the 4x400m gold she won as part of a victorious American team in Beijing. Such, it seems, is the enduring pull of the Games.

“Oh yeah, to me it’s definitely the biggest stage of all,” she confirms. “You really can’t duplicate it. We have the World Championships every two years, and I like that because in track and field it does give you something to push for, but then in the States no one even really notices it. It’s really not on the radar

back home... that’s why it’s nice to come places like this, where the fans are really knowledgeable.”

Double trouble?

For all the status athletics enjoys as the flagship sport of the Olympics, it remains frustratingly on the margins in Felix’s native US. While recent world champions such as Jess Ennis and this week’s cover star Mo Farah become instant heroes here in Britain, their American counterparts struggle for prominence – and that even includes an all-time great such as Michael Johnson.

“Oh, he’s way bigger over here,” laughs Felix. “He can walk all around the States and be just fine...”

It’s now 16 years since the great man achieved the rare feat of 200m and 400m gold at the Atlanta Games, and a full 28 since Valerie Brisco-Hooks did the same in Los Angeles. The latter’s coach at the time was a certain Bobby Kersee – husband to the great heptathlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and the man who will decide whether Felix attempts the same double at London this summer. >

Ian Walton/Getty Images

For 5,000m world champion Mo Farah, 2012 is a year that started out big and then got even bigger. But it hasn’t all gone his way so far, as he tells Sport...

Allyson Felix doesn’t understand Usain Bolt...

Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images

hUNGer PaINS That’s especially true when you consider that Bernard Lagat, Augustine Choge and Edwin Soi (the trio who kept the world 5,000m champion off the podium in Istanbul) are all likely to be on the track in London, fired up by the chance to upset the home favourite.

“I’ve got to learn from it,” says Farah of the physical 15-lap battle of Turkey that ended with his dramatic dive over the finish line, one painful hundredth of a second behind bronze-medallist Soi. “It’s good to have those kind of races, though. If I hadn’t run there, then I wouldn’t have this hunger ahead of the Olympics, and I wouldn’t want it as much – you’ve got to want it.”

That desire would, a few years ago, have seen Farah back in his spikes as soon as his flight touched down at Heathrow. But now, operating under the wizened tutelage of world-renowned coach Alberto Salazar, Farah is under strict instructions. “I wanted to get back in training straight away,” he explains.

“But my coach said to me: ‘You’ve got to be sensible – you’ve got to take a week off.’ And that’s what I did.

I listen to him, but I am one of those guys who wants to get back into it, train hard and show what I’m about.”

BAFFled

BY BOlt

| May 4 2012 | 23

“Usain has brought so much more excitement to it. He has this great personality and he makes it all fun and games. It’s cool that he can do that and run world records, because I don’t know anyone else who could be so light-hearted and still get down to business. It’s almost sickening, you know?

I mean, how can he get away with that?”

| 17

FArAh’s FAith

is it A Bird...?

OIympic legends

The interactive issue

Jonathan edwards: Mr Modesty

Arsenal fan Mo Farah gives a slightly optimistic answer when we ask him if he’d rather win an Olympic gold or see the Gunners win the title...

Daley Thompson

Issue 255 | May 11 2012

The interactive issue

OLYMPIC LEGENDS REDGRAVE HOLMES EDWARDS GUNNELL HEMERY SANDERSON

ew British athletes are more synonymous with the Olympics than Daley Thompson. He went to his first Games as a 17-year-old in 1976, finishing a respectable 18th in the decathlon in Montreal, before running, throwing and jumping his way to consecutive gold medals in Moscow and Los Angeles. Indeed, his performance atop the podium in LA, where he whistled his way nonchalantly through the national anthem, earned him a place in the top 10 of our 100 most memorable Olympic moments feature only last month.

These days, the 53-year-old Thompson’s Olympic involvement has a virtual edge; he meets Sport on the ground floor of London’s BT Tower, where his work as an ambassador for BT Infinity sees him launching the new official Olympic video game. But his enthusiasm for the Games remains as real as ever – even if he can’t recall everything from his glorious past...

In our Olympic Legends issue last week, Sir Steve Redgrave exhibited an almost forensic recollection of his entire Olympic career. Are you the same?

“It’s funny you ask that, because when there were 300 days to go to this Olympic Games, I went back to Moscow with Allan Wells. We went to the Luzhniki Stadium, where they held the 1980 Games, and there wasn’t a single thing Allan didn’t remember.

He remembered the colours of the seats, where all the soldiers were sitting, everything... but for all I knew it could have been a different stadium. I didn’t remember a thing, but Allan was exactly the same as you say Steve Redgrave was. He even remembered some seats that had changed from wooden then to plastic now.

Unbelievable.”

So what do you remember of your first Games, in Montreal in 1976?

“You know what – and this probably sounds silly – but I actually had my best memories from that one. I went there as a 17-year-old;

expect Great ations

three weeks earlier I’d been doing my O levels, and then I’d come to a place where one day in the dining hall I’m sitting on the same table as the world’s fastest man, the world’s strongest man and the world’s best gymnast. When you’re 17 years old, there really is no better place to be.”

OlympianOne of our gre atest eve s, decath local r lon Sport helad Daley Tho legend and be the expects Lon mpson tells greate st Game don 2012 to s of all time

By the 1980 Games in Moscow you were world record holder and favourite for gold – how did you cope with the expectation from back home?

“Well, my own expectations were pretty high anyway. Most athletes have high expectations for themselves because they know how well they can perform, and for me it just came with being the favourite.

But you know what? In sport, the favourites generally win.”

Through the early ‘80s you enjoyed a great rivalry with the German decathlete Jurgen Hingsen. Did it help to have someone pushing you so hard at the top, even though you generally got the better of him in competition?

“Generally? Don’t you mean always? Twenty times out of 20 – pull yourself together man.

[Laughs] But yeah, of course it helped.

I was lucky in a couple of ways. One, that >

Tony Duffy/Allsport

F

8,847

t time bes 4 on’s life at the 198a set Thomps Daley decathlon, eles. It wasfor for the cs in Los Angthat stood ord Olympi ld record British rec a new wor rs, and day yea eight nds to this that sta

| May 18 2012 | 37

Olympic legends

“A lifetime’s work and sacrifice boils down to those 90 minutes – to those six jumps” JOnathan edwards, triple Jump, 2000

Tony Feder/Allsport

“Olympic gold. Arsenal can win the league next year and the following year and the following year, but this is once in a lifetime.”

“GoinG into 1995, i'd only won one Global medal and had had a pretty poor 1994, so i didn't know what to expect. then suddenly, i was the world record holder and the world champion. it was a complete turnaround – a bit like clark kent GoinG into the telephone box and cominG out the other side as superman.”

I see the Olympics in a very different way now – I appreciate what an amazing celebration of human endeavour it is across the board, in terms of the athletes as well as the organisation and the whole experience. But, back when I was competing, it was just about trying to win.

It was phenomenally tense and stressful because it mattered so much. The idea of saying you have to enjoy the Olympic experience is all well and good but, realistically, it’s the most important competition of your life – and it only comes around every four years.

The Olympics I enjoyed the most was definitely Seoul in 1988, because I went there with no expectations at all, so I was like a kid in a sweet shop.

I didn’t jump well, but I just went there to enjoy it.

Barcelona ‘92 was a great Games as well, because it was a great city and a great spectacle – but I performed badly, so that tempers my memory.

I was devastated when I didn’t make the final there.

Going into 1995, I’d only won one global medal and had had a pretty poor 1994, so I didn’t know what to expect. Then, suddenly, I was the world record holder and the world champion. It was a complete turnaround – a bit like Clark Kent going into the telephone box and coming out the other side as Superman. The problem is the Atlanta Olympics was coming up in just a year, so the pressure on me to perform well was cranked up immediately.

Silver in Atlanta It was such a big change for me in terms of my status in world athletics. My whole experience of 1996 is of feeling incredibly pressurised. I don’t have any great memories of Atlanta, to be honest.

It was just very stressful. Having said that, the stadium was awesome. It was packed full and it was hugely patriotic for the Americans, so it was a great atmosphere. I was just so tied up with my own little drama that I didn’t really take much else in.

the hOMe OF Athletics?

There wasn’t a huge stack of gold-medal hopes for the British team going to Atlanta, so there was intense focus on my performance. I don’t mind saying it got to me. I knew there was a very good American – the one who went on to win it, Kenny Harrison – in the field. And, to be honest, I very nearly got nothing, which would have been pretty horrible given what people expected. In the end, I felt very proud of the way that I sort of picked myself up off the canvas with the count on nine and managed to win a silver medal with a half-decent distance.

It was weird standing on the podium despite not winning the gold. But, at the end of day, it was an Olympic silver medal. Four years before, I didn’t even qualify for the final. And, up until the previous year, the best result I’d had was a bronze at the World Championships and two silvers at Commonwealth Games. I felt incredibly proud with the Olympic silver, but you can’t get away from the fact that everybody else is thinking: “He should have won the gold.” >

| May 11 2012 | 33

Issue 256 | May 18 2012

daley thompson on West ham’s potential bargain... “athletics deserves a home, and I think if a football club is going to get a great stadium like that on the cheap, which is exactly what it would be, then they should be prepared to put up with a couple of disadvantages. If they feel that having a track around the pitch is a disadvantage, that is.”

Believe Unstoppable?

Picking apart the mighty Bayern Munich – why Chelsea have nothing to fear

“Chelsea should not fear Bayern Munich, even facing them on home soil. They should believe it can be done, because it can. Provided they believe it.”

lOOkiNG BAck

Jess Ennis

NOt A BAd cONsOlAtiON

Jessica ennis on telling her kids she was the face of the Games:

steve redgrave on not being able to row single sculls...

“THere Is a lITTle bIT of regreT aboUT noT acHIevIng wHaT I Had seT oUT To acHIeve, bUT I sUppose IT’s a good second besT To wIn fIve golds In noT qUITe THe caTegory of boaT yoU wanTed To.” 20 | December 21 2012 |

German football expert Uli hess told us how chelsea could beat Bayern:

In pursuit of perfectio tion This weekend, Jess Ennis will return to the place where her Beijing Olympic dreams died in 2008.

But Gotzis holds few fears for a heptathlete more concerned with reasserting her dominance over the world's best runners, jumpers and throwers...

14 | May 25 2012 |

| 15

“When I’m old, wrinkly and probably overweight, I’ll have them up all round the house and say: ‘That’s what I used to look like.’ The kids will be like: ‘Oh no, not these pictures again.’”

JUNE M MASTER MIND MIND T

Dave Brailsford

“If I take one book wIth me? Probably fantastIc mr fox. at least, that’s my favourIte at the mInute.”

n the summer of 1996, like thousands of other 10-year-olds (and probably a fair few grown men), Ashley Young watched England’s European Championship campaign and dreamed of one day emulating his heroes. “I was in school at the time,” he remembers. “Some of the teachers would let us watch the games and I was just sitting there thinking hopefully, fingers crossed, I’d one day be able to say that I’ve represented my country at a major tournament...”

Of course, for someone as talented as the Manchester United winger, it was a more realistic aim than for most of those kids (and all of those deluded men) – even if it has taken Young until relatively late in his international career to really establish

I

Finally, your first international tournament – how do you feel?

“I can’t wait. I’m really looking forward to it.

Like you say, it’ll be my first tournament for the seniors and, you know, I’m just excited about it.”

Have you played as much as you’d have liked for United this season?

“As a player, you wanna play every game, but the manager changes the team, he knows exactly what he’s doing and I think injury has been the only disappointment for me when it comes to playing games. I’ve been out twice through injury, which was quite a long time [away from playing], and I’ve not been used to that to be honest.

I started off really well, I was getting assists, getting goals and I was enjoying myself – and then obviously I had that disappointment of being injured. But I got myself back fit and I just had to produce again.”

How do you feel your form has been for England in the past year?

“With qualification, the games that I’ve been involved in I’ve done well, chipped in with a few goals and got a few assists. Getting assists is always nice; especially as a winger, to see someone score from your cross is nice. When I had that extended run in the team, I was fulfilling my potential and playing well and I was full of confidence. I’ve got confidence in my ability to go out there and produce – and I felt that, when I did have that regular place, I was doing well.”

What were your feelings about Fabio Capello’s resignation, after working so hard to impress him?

“It came as a shock, to be honest. I think it came as a shock to quite a few players. >

| June 8 2012 | 35

WE WisH yoU HaDN’t ashley young on whether or not he would take a penalty at the Euros...

WE fEar no onE

competition. And you know what? We’re actually more supportive of each other now. We never had a bad relationship, but it’s improving with time.”

Feel the love One difference between them that Wladimir has long openly pointed out is that he sees his brother as the one with the natural fighter’s instinct that he himself does not possess. “Fighting is in Vitali’s blood,” is how he puts it in the feature-length documentary Klitschko that he’s in London to promote. So if Vitali is the one who took to boxing like a giant Ukrainian duck to water, when was it that Wladimir began to love the sport enough to stay active in it from his teens until the age of 35?

“You’ll be surprised, but I did not fall in love with boxing in the beginning when I started to box,” he says. “I started to box because I wanted to get out of the Soviet Union in order to travel, to see

“Definitely, 100 per cent.

I’ve taken penalties before, and especially playing at United you always have pressure because there’s the pressure of winning every game. When it comes down to penalties, I’ll definitely put my name down as number one, two, three – whatever it is. If we go to penalties, I’ll definitely be taking one.”

Wladimir klitschko implored Derek chisora to seek help:

“I truly believe that Chisora needs psychological help.

He needs treatment.

Two days later, when he’s saying: ’I apologise for what I’ve done...’ you don’t really mean it.

Someone has told you to say that.”

| June 22 2012 | 23

7 Days OUR PICK OF THE ACTION FROM THE SPORTING WEEK AHEAD

Friday > BMx vERT | x GAMES | LOS ANGELES, USA |

22 | December 21 2012 |

Virtually untouchable on the halfpipe, Jamie Bestwick has dominated BMX vert over the past 12 years. Ahead of X Games 18, the Brit tells Sport he’s not done just yet You’ve won five X Games golds in a row, and nine altogether. Is it even worth the others turning up this year?

[Laughs] “Of course – it’s never a guarantee.

I’ve just been lucky enough to get it right all these years. I think I’ve been more dedicated and put more hard work into getting ready for the X Games. The big mistake a lot of riders make is trying to downplay the event. That’s just an enormous amount of rubbish, because

How are you feeling about this year’s event?

“It’s a strange one actually, because I’ve been running around just lately doing a lot of TV work, so I haven’t put as much time as I could into the bike. Having said that, I did a lot of my preparation in the winter because I knew that I’d be busy. So, while it’s taken me away from my bike a bit, it hasn’t taken my focus away. Those days I’ve had off to do TV work have actually given me a break from the punishment of riding for long hours.”

So you’re feeling fresher?

“Yeah, but then I’m healthier this year anyway.

I’ve always got some knock here or there, but at the beginning of last year I had a fractured skull and I was due in for back surgery. By this time last year, I was very tired from the

After seven years, two World Championships and 35 race wins, Casey Stoner retires from MotoGP at the end of the season. We caught up with him ahead of his last ever British Grand Prix on Sunday hen a multiple world champion leaves his sport, it's usually at the end of a long and distinguished career, with ample time to reflect on the highs, lows and all that youthful potential fully realised. Not so in the case of defending MotoGP champion Casey Stoner.

Last month, Stoner announced that he will retire from the sport at the end of the current season. Still just 26, and in the running for a third world title, the most surprising thing about Stoner's announcement is that it didn't really come as a shock. The Australian has always been honest and outspoken. Just last year he told Sport that the thrill of racing had left him, and that he saw it more as a job he had to do. So now begins the long goodbye, and it's some notice period – Stoner is 20 points off the championship lead with 13 races to go, starting at Silverstone this weekend.

W

Last year you told us racing MotoGP wasn't “huge amounts of fun” for you anymore.

Is that why you've decided to call it a day?

“It's not something that's come on new, so whatever I've said to people has been around for a long time – and these are things I've said for a long time. There's a lot of different factors that are all part

of the decision. It's been accumulated over a long time to the point where, yeah – it just wasn't worth the difficulty of it any more, and it was better for me to find new challenges in my life.”

Has being a new father been one of the contributing factors?

“No, to be honest. I've said I've been thinking about this for years now. And, y'know, the only thing the new family helped me with was... when I had kind of made the decision, it just helped me go through with it a little bit easier and almost gave me support that I had made the right decision.”

What about the safety aspect in the wake of last year's tragic events?

“I've always known this sport’s dangerous, and it seems like nobody else does. I'm the one who likes that respect between racers, and everybody else wants to see biff and bash and they want to see us sitting on the handlebars and all the rest of it – but they forget that this isn't a safe sport. We're not covered in cotton wool and safe from any impact. This is something that's becoming disappointing from fans. I've known for a long time that anything can happen at any moment. It just disappoints me to think people really don't care – all they wanna see is racing and hitting and punching and

Sunday MotoGP | Round 6: British Grand Prix Silverstone BBC Two 1pm

all the rest of it. So, no – it had absolutely nothing to do with my decision.”

Are you still up for another title scrap with Jorge Lorenzo, and trying to go out on a high with another championship win?

“To be honest, I'm willing to go out on whatever we can get. We never go into a championship thinking: ‘Oh yeah, we'd be happy with second or third.’ We're out there to try and win it. Things looked bleak at this point of the championship last year – we were almost 30 points behind. We're a lot closer to the front this time, and a lot more realistic for the championship. I'll never go out on track and just let people win.

We'll still give it 100 per cent.”

What's your relationship with Jorge like – you guys have obviously been great rivals on the track for the past few years?

“We get on very well, to be honest. I think between myself, Jorge, Dani [Pedrosa] and quite a few of the top riders we have a huge respect for each other. >

“People forget this isn’t a safe sport.

It disappoints me to think people don’t care – all they wanna see is racing and hitting and punching and all the rest” | June 15 2012 | 29

“Basically, [I want to] have time for family. I wanna open my sock drawer and find socks. I don’t have drawers at the moment. All we do is travel round in a suitcase every week. Just stay packed and off to the next place, off to the next place... so it’ll be really nice to just wake up in the morning and walk over to a chest of drawers and actually find clothes in it.”

WorLD of paiN

Inside the Ufc

Once the preserve Of the blOOdthirsty few and demOnised as “human cOckfighting”, the ultimate fighting champiOnship nOw has the heart Of mainstream america and its sights set On becOming the biggest spOrt On the planet. nick harper went inside ufc 146 tO find Out why...

Dan Hardy on the bloody world of Ufc:

or a pacifist, Junior dos santos is in the wrong business... f clearly A few hours previously, the Brazilian UFC heavyweight champion of the world had leaned in conspiratorially and exhaled.

"I do not want to hurt Frank Mir," he explained to Sport, and we believed him.

Now, a few hours later, he's propelling his giant right fist into the face of Frank Mir at a truly terrifying velocity, repeatedly and with gusto. The man they call 'Cigano' (The Gypsy) was hoping to knock Frank Mir clean out without hurting him, but it's not working out that way. Frank Mir will not go quietly.

The bell saves Mir at the end of the first and he's ushered back to his corner, or what passes for a corner in an octagon.

To make sure he's in a fit state to carry on, the ringside doctor leans in and asks a simple question: "Do you know where you are, sir?" Without missing a beat, Mir shoots back the answer: “Mandalay Bay, Vegas, May 26." Sadly, at the time of questioning, Mir is sat on his stool in the MGM Grand, dazed and confused. But he sounds convincing enough, so out he goes.

Quickly, Cigano drops him again with a blur of punches, then steps back to admire the damage and beg the lord

When the UFC first emerged in 1993, US senator and future presidential candidate John McCain infamously painted it as "human cockfighting". Given that UFC 1 sold itself as a free-for-all between consenting maniacs, in which 'Two Men Enter... One Man Leaves', this was fair comment. The only way a fight could end, read the small print, was via 'knockout, submission, doctor's intervention, or death'.

Back then there were only three rules: no biting, no eye-gouging, no striking an opponent in the groin. Anything and >

Bradley Wiggins on tackling le tour as well as the olympic time trial and road race...

When Le Tour begins in Liege tomorrow, all eyes will be on Britain’s own Bradley Wiggins as he looks to make history for a second time this year...

as much a part of his persona as they were for the man who inspired them – The Who bass player, John Entwistle. So Wiggins is easily spotted among the plethora of holidaymakers in ill-advised (and ill-fitting) budgie smugglers around the pool. But as we rise to greet him and shake the hand of the man tipped to make cycling history, we’re offered an apology in place of a palm: “Sorry, I’m not being rude. I just can’t take any [injury] risks at this point...” Dodging a handshake is not a very British thing to do, but then neither is winning the Tour de France. Yet. Are there any great gains to be made in this period before the Tour starts, or is all your money already in the bank?

“It’s more about stuff off the bike now – how you rest, trying not to get ill, keeping an eye on the weight, all those kind of things. There’s only a couple of key

extensive rehabilitation I had to do in order to just be able to ride at about 75 per cent, so I’m in a better place and have a better attitude to riding my bike this year. You know what? It’s been a great year, so whatever happens in LA, I’ll be happy.”

Who are the other names we should be keeping an eye on in Los Angeles?

“It’s always the usual crew, but this year the guy on top form is young Aussie Vince Byron.

He went to the Shanghai X Games and won, and he’s coming in with a lot of momentum.

He’s got some incredible tricks and he’s young, so he has this fantastic outlook on how to ride a bike. He’s refreshing.”

Do you have any new tricks lined up for LA? “Yeah, I have one I invented called the Time Machine. I won’t tell you what it is, but if you don’t pull it off, it’ll take years off your life.

If you pull it off, it’ll zap you into the future!”

knOckOut, submissiOn, dOctOr, death

WorkiNg ovErtimE

CHASING LEGENDS

| June 29 2012 | 31 44 | June 29 2012 |

above for forgiveness. Mir is down, but not entirely out, so Cigano darts back in and administers the coup de grace – a funny little tap on the head designed to finally turn Mir's lights out without doing him any damage. A timid little tap – the pugilist's pacifier.

It's certainly not the sort of finishing shot we expected to end a heavyweight title fight in supposedly the most punishing sport on earth. But then, as we sit ringside at the Mandalay Bay – or the MGM Grand, or wherever we are tonight – we're sharing Mir's confusion. This is not the UFC we thought we knew...

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42 | June 15 2012 |

Bradley Wiggins

A

JUNEHIGHLIGHTS 29-JULY 5 » Cricket: England v Australia, 1st ODI » p46 » MotoGP: Round 7, Assen » p48 » Baseball: Tampa Bay Rays v NY Yankees » p48 » Rugby League: England v Exiles » p50 » Best of the Rest » p51

ESPN AMERICA 1.30PM

everybody who comes to these games prepares enormously for them. In extreme sports, it’s the biggest deal of the summer.”

casey stoner on swapping pace and adrenaline for a bulging sock drawer...

The long goodbye

Jeff Gross/Getty Images

X factor

sick of spEED

Brit winning the Tour de France just doesn’t happen. Never in the Tour’s 98 illustrious editions has one even graced the podium at the end of the final stage in Paris, let alone rolled down the Champs-Élysées clad in the illustrious Yellow Jersey of the race leader.

Yet all the talk ahead of this year’s race is of one man, and a British one at that: Bradley Wiggins. “I’m the favourite for the Tour de France,” he says, puffing his cheeks out incredulously, his mind clearly a little blown to be the bookies’ pick. “It’s something to tell the grandchildren one day.”

There are 11 days to go until the Grand Depart in Liege when Sport sits down with Wiggins in the poolside bar of a Majorcan hotel. He’s staying in an apartment nearby with his family until a few days before the Tour, taking advantage of the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range’s high gradients and the island’s oppressive heat to prepare for what could be the greatest race of his life.

He’s lean – exceptionally lean – and sporting those distinctive mutton-chop sideburns that have become

Bmxer Jamie Bestwick told us about his new trick:

“Yeah, I have one I Invented called the tIme machIne. I won’t tell You what It Is, but If You don’t pull It off, It’ll take Years off Your lIfe. If You pull It off, It’ll zap You Into the future!”

Casey Stoner

“you just concentrate on hurtIng the other guy more than he hurts you. PaIn and blood are just InevItable Parts of the Process.”

tHat Boy NEEDs tHErapy

different countries — and I was following in the footsteps of my older brother. I really never used to love boxing at all, to be honest with you.”

It’s easy to believe Wladimir as he says this.

Despite his broad, 6ft 5in frame and the fact that we’re sat talking in an old boxing gym under London Bridge, he doesn’t immediately strike you as a boxer. His face is free from any marks or scar tissue, he’s tanned, wearing a well-cut but low-key suit and sipping a large coffee. There’s not even a Chris Eubank monocle to give a hint to his profession. So what — if anything — has changed?

“I actually fell in love with boxing when I lost two fights [in 2003 and 2004]. It showed me that life in sport is such an exciting thing — and that I was about to lose it. You can work all your life and the way up is very long, but the way back down is just one step. So I had to come back. I had to find it in myself to do things right, to reorganise

LEt’s Do tHE timE Warp agaiN

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the gB cycling boss on his supervisory role:

Wladimir Klitschko on being competitive with his brother — and how Dereck Chisora made him sick for three days

W

CAVENDISH THE GREAT Brailsford had planned to be in Majorca on the day we meet, keeping one eye on a Team Sky training camp. But a change of heart sees him in Manchester, where new recruit Mark Cavendish is due to put in some hours on the boards. The Manxman's switch to Team Sky at the start of 2012 was no surprise – one of the best British riders at the best (well, only) British team makes sense. Brailsford has also known the world champion since he first appeared at the Manchester Velodrome as a bolshy 16-year-old with his chest puffed out and ideas way above his station.

“Like most youngsters, I asked him:'What's the top of your mountain? Where do you want to be?'“ Brailsford recalls. “He was very forthright in saying: 'I want to be the fastest man in the world.' I thought: 'Blimey, that's a bit bold.' >

BraiLsforD’s sympHoNy

Joe Hart tells Sport why England have their sights set high this summer

Brother beyond hen we were younger, we were like knuckleheads,” says Wladimir Klitschko, bashing his fists into each other as he speaks. “We went really tough on one another.” He’s talking about his relationship with his older brother and fellow heavyweight boxer, Vitali, dismissing the belief that the pair are both interchangeable and always on the same page.

“We are not cloned,” he adds. “We are brothers, but there’s a five-year age gap. Even though we have the same parents, we don’t have the same character. Sometimes we have the same opinion, but often it’s different.”

Wladimir also confirms that despite the closeness that exists between boxing’s most famous brothers, a traditional sibling rivalry does exist. “We are totally competitive. Both of us want to do the same thing better than the other does.

It’s a competition between us, but it’s a healthy

KEEPING IT SIMPLE “It's not complicated,” he insists, smiling. “There are people running companies with 20-30,000 people out there. Sport is a game. And it's all about trying to get people to perform to the best of their ability.

”What makes it easier for sports teams is that most elite sportspeople are very driven individuals.

They don't come to work and think: 'I'll do my nineto-five and see the week through – I'm interested in my pay packet and that's about it.' If you can harness that drive, it gives you an advantage.”

Even so, Brailsford admits he can't see himself leading both orchestras again when the Rio Olympics come around. “I like to know what's going on in every area and have it at my fingertips,” he says. “I want to make sure I'm across junior BMX enough, for example. Likewise with mountain biking or any element of the development programmes.

The volume of information I get now is so great...”

At this, he exhales deeply: ”Something has to give.

After London, I'd imagine my role changes, and that's more in terms of British Cycling than Team Sky.”

36 | June 1 2012 |

Gold & Goose/Red Bull Content Pool

Sport chats to Ashley Young about Euro 2012, his England career and why he’d definitely take a penalty – if it comes to it

himself in the England side.

Initially called up by Steve McClaren back in 2007, when he made his debut in a friendly against Austria, he was used as a second-half substitute for his first nine England appearances.

Young didn’t actually make his first start until October 2010, at the start of the qualifying phase for the upcoming tournament. His £16m summer move to United from Aston Villa seemed to help persuade Fabio Capello of his merits and, finally given a run in the team, he has excelled. Young has scored six goals and created three (or five, if you count the two penalties he has won) in his past nine England appearances, including that coolly taken winner in Norway in the first warm-up game at the end of May. Now that boyhood dream of representing England at a major tournament is a reality, and Young couldn’t be more excited.

David Rogers/Getty Images

Young and dreaming

here's a photograph from the Beijing Olympics adorning the otherwise bare walls of Dave Brailsford's office, buried deep within the bowels of the Manchester Velodrome.

Enlarged to A2 size and stretched on to canvas, the photo shows the team pursuit boys – Ed Clancy, Paul Manning, Geraint Thomas and Bradley Wiggins – in formation during their world record, gold medal-winning ride (pictured right).

“A nice memory,” we say. “Yes, and it's almost perfect,” Brailsford says, walking over to it. We're confused. What could possibly be wrong with a photograph of the perfect ride? Pointing to the back of Thomas' aerodynamically contoured helmet, British Cycling's head honcho explains: “It's not quite resting low enough on his back, you see. I've made sure I told him about it, too...”

It's no surprise to see such attention to detail from a man who currently fulfils lead roles at two of Britain's top sporting institutions. Indeed, when Team Sky launched in January 2010, many questioned whether Brailsford could handle managing Britain's first professional team while also preparing the nation's top cyclists for a home Olympics.

“I think people misunderstood how I was going to approach it,” he says now. “I see my role as an orchestra conductor; it's my job to decide what tunes we’re going to play, then pick the violinist, the cymbal player, etc. Not diving in, grabbing an instrument and saying: 'This is how you play it.' It's making sure we've got the best guys and creating an environment in which they can be at their best.

“Yes, it was a stretch to start with, when we were getting everything off the ground. But in a four-year Olympic cycle, there are times when it's full on and times when it drops off a bit. I timed it so we built Team Sky at the start of an Olympic cycle, got it up and running, and now I'm focused on the Olympics.”

Bryn Lennon/Getty Images, Nick Laham/Getty Images

Joe Hart relaxed with a book during England’s Euro 2012 campaign...

Euro 2012 Ashley Young

“I think people misunderstood how I was going to approach it.

I see my role as an orchestra conductor. It’s my job to decide what tunes we’re going to play, then pick the violinist, the cymbal player, etc. Not diving in, grabbing an instrument and saying: ‘This is how you play it.’ It’s making sure we’ve got the best guys and creating an environment in which they can be at their best.”

He's fighting a war on two fronts, heading up British Cycling in their preparation for the Olympics and Team Sky in their third season. But Dave Brailsford tells Sport that really, his job is easy...

Zuffa LLC

Issue 258 | June 1 2012

Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Up NExt: DostoEvsky

“The details were put in place months ago, so we know that on Sunday night, the minute the Tour finishes, we fly to the holding camp in Surrey.

Other than that, it’s very simple.

We train all the physical aspects, we have all the equipment – the best bikes, this, that and the other for the Olympics – and that’ll just happen when we get there for the time trial. The road race is a bit more complicated, because tactics are involved, but the time trial is what we do day in, day out in racing – I may have to do my best ever time trial to win the Tour on that final Saturday of the race. So in fact, the Tour’s probably the best preparation for the Olympics.”

JULY Before this weekend's British Grand Prix, Sport chats to seven-time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher, back on the podium for the first time in six years...

t's glorious in Valencia – waves lap the hulls of yachts in the harbour and the sun beats down on packed pavement cafes. Sport, meanwhile, is crammed into a cage at the back of the Mercedes garage, watching and listening through a mesh screen as mechanics and engineers tend to the temperamental beasts that are modern Formula 1 cars. Our mid-afternoon latte can wait. After all, we have a job to do.

Surrounded by noise and machinery, it's stifling.

We can only imagine what it's like, then, for Michael Schumacher. Strapped into his car ready for free practice ahead of the European Grand Prix, he also has a job to do. As you might expect of a man with 91 Grand Prix wins to his name, Schumacher is a calm, assured presence in a frantic environment – receiving instructions from his team and talking through changes to the car set-up as his colleagues run through their race preparations. It could have all been so different – a life of sipping champagne on yachts awaited the then 37-year-old when, in 2006, he retired from a sport he had dominated for so long. But the pull of the pits was too strong.

Valencia would go on to be the highlight of Schumacher's comeback so far – his third-placed finish marking a first podium in 46 attempts since returning to the sport with Mercedes in 2010. It's been a tough road back to the top – but, despite the travails and all-too-regular retirements from individual races, Schumi is just as calm as he'll be on the circuit when we sit down to speak to him in his team's swanky paddock motorhome a few days before the race. He speaks in careful, considered sentences – the product of years of media-handling experience – but seems genuinely full of optimism (well-placed, as it turned out) that, despite a torrid start to the year, his lot will improve.

I

How do you feel the season's going for you so far?

“I think, if you look to the first two years, there was probably a clear issue in qualifying that I was not able to maximise the car's performance. Since we have changed the engineering team on my car – that was Spa last year – we made a big improvement to our personal situation. That has helped a lot, and from there on, in qualifying and the race in particular, I got much better. This year, since the beginning actually, in all fields we've been very

34 | July 6 2012 |

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competitive – we're looking very good. Although if you look at the points, they don't show it.”

But you've only finished two races so far this season?

“At least the team and I do know the reality, and we can easily understand what's going on. We all don't feel excited and happy about what has been happening on my car. The boys are doing their utmost in order to achieve the two most reliable cars and the best result possible, but then you've got to know that these cars are prototypes – and, in that case, they sometimes have problems. That's the nature of Formula 1.”

That must be frustrating?

“It's not very exciting... but it would certainly be much worse for me if it happened to be that I'm going off the track and I make mistakes and I hit the walls or whatever. That would certainly be much more tough. But we're not talking about a particular person doing failures – we're talking about a prototype car that sometimes, unfortunately, doesn't finish the race. It's not our standard. It's very unusual – especially for the team record, if you look at it.

But it's the nature of the sport that it can happen.”

The DRS has given you a boost in qualifying that you've not been able to match during the race, though?

“If you say that the system compared to another car gives us a tenth of lap time performance, then yes – maybe in the race it will give me proportionally less because you can use it only on the straight. This is the case, but some people wish to believe it gave us a big advantage – and that's why we're looking good in qualifying and sometimes maybe not in the race. But if you make a proper analysis, you understand that now we are as competitive in the race as in qualifying – whereas initially we were not because we were not doing a good enough job with setting up the car.”

You had provisional pole in Monaco – do you think that could have been your moment, were it not for the five-place grid penalty?

“I think it's a very simple calculation – with being in pole position and starting from there, I would have been leading the race. But I would have still retired from my mechanical problem that I had anyway.”

Knowing how things have turned out since your return to Formula 1, would you still have made the decision to come back?

“I do feel excited, and I think Monaco was a good example despite the race – and yes, I would still be here. The Formula 1 world has its excitement in different areas – it's not only about the driving and the success that you have. That is the ultimate, but in the meantime developing something, building up a team and achieving something can ultimately be a very big challenge and a target. Yes, it was a surprise that this challenge and work was much bigger than we anticipated. But we understood that very early and we have the means [to be successful]. >

"We’ve been very competitive, we’re looking very good – but if you look at the points, they don’t show it"

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WAs iT WorTh iT? Ahead of the British GP, we asked seven-time world champ Michael schumacher whether he thought his return to F1 had been worth it...

“When I was living at home, my mum did everything for me – and I mean everything. I used to leave my washing outside my bedroom and she’d wash it for me. So when I moved up there, I didn’t know how to do anything. The first time I went up I actually set fire to the oven trying to cook a jacket potato.

And I didn’t know anyone, so who do you go to? The fire alarm was going off and everything.”

Laura Trott

”Formula 1 has its excitement in different areas – it’s not only about the driving and the success you have. That is the ultimate, but developing something, building up a team and achieving something can be a very big challenge and a target. Yes, it was a surprise that this challenge and work was much bigger than we anticipated – but we understood that early and have the means to be successful.“ We weren’t convinced – and nor, in the end, was he. Schumacher retired for a second (and hopefully final) time in November

Oscar Pistorius

olympic cycling hopeful Laura Trott on moving to Manchester to train with the British national squad at the age of 18:

So do you think you're in a good position to win a race this season?

“Erm, I hope so.”

www.mercedes-amg-f1.com

R Return of th the king?

GirL MeeTs WorLd

Michael Schumacher Mercedes' unique DRS system came in for some scrutiny at the start of the season – do you think it could be to blame for the reliability issue?

“No. No, definitely not. I mean, yes – we had a DRS failure [in Canada], but that was very different to the first time we retired in Bahrain. So I don't think this is to do with that.”

Double Trouble

Two gold medals at April’s World Champs saw Laura Trott become British Cycling’s latest star.

Now she goes to her first Olympics with potential to show up some of the sport’s bigger names…

W

ith the gargantuan thighs of Chris Hoy and the extraordinary, multilayered personality of Victoria Pendleton awaiting any young riders arriving at the Manchester Velodrome for the first time, it’s a daunting place to start a senior cycling career.

Indeed, when an 18-year-old Laura Trott showed up in 2010, it was intimidating enough to put the silencers on her Essex-imbued exuberance. She recalls: “When I first walked in, I was really quiet because I was like: ‘I don’t want to give these people a bad impression – I don’t want them to hate me from day one.’”

Fast forward a year or two and Trott is now entirely at home among the Hoys and Pendletons. A double world champion herself, some even tip Trott to outshine them at London 2012, with gold medals in both the team pursuit and omnium a very real possibility for the now 20-year-old.

But it’s not just Trott’s bike-riding talent that’s convincing anyone who meets her that she’s destined for stardom. Away from her two-wheeler, she’s utterly engaging in a way that can only mean one thing: we’re about to see and hear a great deal more from this Essex girl...

After the World Championships in Melbourne earlier this year, Dave Brailsford called you the ‘star of the show’. Are you happy to be in the spotlight?

“Oh yeah – I mean, everyone likes a compliment off their boss, don’t they?

52 | July 27 2012 |

Fair game?

Four and a half years after being banned from competing in able-bodied races, double amputee Oscar Pistorius will compete at the Olympic Games. Sport spoke to him both before and after the historic selection decision that is destined to divide opinion...

Photography by Jon Enoch

The chosen one After selection for the south African olympic team, oscar Pistorius rejects suggestions that his prosthetics may give him an advantage over able-bodied athletes:

“Not at all. I have people saying I’ve changed this on my prosthetic legs or I’ve done that and that must be the reason for my improvements, or that the technology has advanced. The technology on the prosthetics is actually quite old. It’s carbon fibre, which has been around for about 30 years, and the design hasn’t changed since 1996. Nothing on my legs has changed since 2004, so all the improvements have come from my training. I don’t have to explain that to anyone – I know what is just and I believe in the fairness of sport.”

On his pre-race routine...

“Back there before the race, I prefer to talk.

So I’ll talk to any of the Caribbean guys, because we know each other and we cool. I’ll probably end up talking with Yohan [Blake], because he definitely likes to talk, and we’ll just talk about girls, cars, music... anything that takes your mind off the race.”

And right before a race...

“Before we in the blocks I’ll be waving at the crowd and I’ll still be thinking about anything other than what I’m about to do. Usually I’ll just think about computer games, because I love computer games, so they take my mind away.

I’m serious.”

On playing for Manchester United...

“I know I’m leaving it late and it’s a big claim, but I’m deadly serious when I say I want to try. I’ve seen some of these guys play and I think I can do much better. I’m not saying I have no respect for these guys, but let me see if I’m just talking.”

“I’m here to make history” inside The Mind oF A LeGend on the day of the London 2012 opening ceremony, Usain Bolt allowed us an insight into what lies behind the smiles...

24 | December 21 2012 |

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16 | July 13 2012 |

On being petrified of deep water...

“You know when most people can stay in one place... what do they call that? Yeah, treading water. Well, I can’t do that.

I can swim, but I can’t tread water.”

Are you worried what might be down there?

“Oh we know what’s down there alright. That’s why I’d never go snorkelling or scuba diving. I know there’s a whole different world under there but I don’t wanna know. I’ll watch Discovery.”

Issue 265 | July 20 2012

Cavendish adlington the brownlee brothers pendleton greene

Yorkshire GriT Future olympic champion Alistair Brownlee reveals the secret of his county’s sporting successes...

“It’s a beautiful place with fantastic paths and tracks to run on. It’s very inspiring.

I think a lot of our motivation to train doesn’t come from being better athletes, from going out and trying to get faster every day. It’s just because we want to be outside, and be inspired by the surroundings. Training for the sake of training doesn’t really motivate me.”

www.policelifestyle.com

AUGUST Greg Rutherford

All that pressure, from both herself and an expectant nation, is now visibly lifted – and the longer Ennis talks, the more it seems to dawn on her. As being an Olympic champion sinks in, we ask Ennis how it feels to have become a part of history.

Initially she squirms at the idea – but, after a moment or two, she gives a considered response. “As a young athlete, I always said I wanted people to remember me, and to remember my name as one of the greatest athletes,” she says. “And hopefully I’ve done that now.”

Issue 268 | August 10 2012

leading man

Describing yourself as an “Olympian, a ginger and a keen baker” might not have your rivals running scared, but long-jumper Greg Rutherford shares the longest jump in the world this year. That’ll do it...

Your personal best over 100m is 10.26s, which is fairly rapid. Are you planning to emulate Carl Lewis further by adding ‘sprinter’ to ‘long-jumper’ on your CV? “Well, in 2010 I made the relay squad for the Commonwealth Games and was a bit disappointed not to run. It would have been a great opportunity for me to show I can pass the baton. Sadly, since then I haven’t had a lot of chances to sprint. But, after this year, I want to try and be a relay runner as well as a long-jumper. Dan [Pfaff] tells me he believes I can be good enough, and it would be a great thing to get an individual spot in the 100m. Speed is my major factor when it comes to jumping, so I may as well try to use that to my advantage in other parts of track and field.”

You could have had an altogether different career, though. You had trials at Aston Villa – so why choose athletics over football?

“It came down to enjoyment, really. I was a lazy football player. I played up front, I liked scoring goals, but everything around it – the training and everything else – I wasn’t as keen on. Then I went to a track and really enjoyed working hard there, so I started to lean more towards the track than football.

When I was about 15, I completely stopped playing football. I probably never would have made it as a football player and I’ve been fortunate enough to do well in my athletics career, so I think I made the right choice.”

But football is in your blood, isn’t it?

“My great-grandfather played for Arsenal and Newcastle and he won 11 caps for England as well. I’m a Manchester United fan, though. Being from Milton Keynes, before the Dons came along there was no local football team, so really you could give your allegiance to anybody. My dad supported them, so I decided to as well.

I was born in 1986, though, and United weren’t very good in the ‘80s. So I’m not really a glory hunter, honest.”

Sarah Shephard @sarahsportmag Greg Rutherford uses Maximuscle, the UK and Europe’s number one sports nutrition brand, to optimise performance. Visit maximuscle.com

See Him in Men’s long jump

WHen Friday 7.50pm (qualification), Saturday 7.55pm (final)

CHanCeS Rutherford is among a handful of British athletes who could medal in London, but it’s sturdy Aussie Mitchell Watt who arrives as favourite.

He won silver at the worlds last year behind London sicknote Dwight Phillips – and, while 8.28m remains Watt’s longest leap of 2012, he has a PB of 8.54m from last summer. Russian Sergey Morgunov equalled Rutherford’s PB of 8.35m before winning gold at the World Juniors, but this summer could be too soon for him.

Jess Ennis

GreG cAllS iT He might have taken olympic gold with the shortest winning leap since 1972, but we can’t say Greg rutherford didn’t warn us...

28 | August 3 2012 |

“I’m among the gold-medal contenders. I’m In the top three or so who go In thInkIng that, If thIngs go well, they should wIn a medal. I’ll put that pressure on myself because I want to wIn. I expect nothIng less than wInnIng a medal. I’d be devastated to come away wIthout one – It would make my year a complete dIsaster, no matter what I dId before or afterwards.”

20 Years of the Premier League

Happy BirtHday, you Monster!

In among the Olympics, the fact that the Premier League is about to turn 20 might have slipped your mind. It hasn’t slipped ours, though. So, to whet your appetite for the season ahead, we present Sport’s Best Bits From The Premier League’s First 20 Years...

2 Best taBloid revelation

Action Images, Stu Forster/Getty Images, Ian Waldie/Action Images, Clive Brunskill /Allsport, John Frost Newspapers, John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images

player-fan 1 Best interaction

Premier League footballers are regularly accused of losing touch with the people who pay their wages. But not Eric Cantona.

In January 1995, as the combustible Frenchman made his way along the touchline having seen red for kicking out at Crystal Palace’s Richard Shaw, throaty local Matthew Simmons was alleged to have sent him on his way with the refrain: “Off you go, Cantona, it’s an early bath for you!”

Or words to that effect, with a few effs and cees for good measure.

Cantona saw red again and regained touch with the common man by launching himself over the barrier and feet first into his fat gut. King Eric followed this up with a flurry of punches to Simmons’ leather jacket before being dragged away. He received a two-week jail sentence, overturned on appeal, and was banned for four months (later increased to eight) – at which point he started mumbling on about sardines and trawlers. Seventeen years on, that act of ultra-violence remains the most remarkable moment in the history of the Premier League.

How my Olympic dream came true

That Wayne Rooney spent his money on prostitutes was hardly earth-shattering.

The fact one of them was a grandmother nicknamed ‘Auld Slapper’ certainly was, likewise the revelation that he left another working girl with a note that read: “I shagged you on December 26, loads of love, Wayne.” And yet, the most revealing thing the tabloids ever taught us about Rooney was that, during one extra-marital tryst, he paid a bellhop £200 for a packet of cigarettes. Depraved and insane.

Of the many, many other tabloid revelations, Sven-Goran Eriksson falling for a Fake Sheikh offering untold riches if he left England for Aston Villa would have been funny if it hadn’t all been so inevitable. And so our winner here came in 1998, in another Fake Sheikh sting, when Newcastle United chairman Freddy Shepherd (right) was caught on tape in a Marbella brothel discussing his taste in brassy tarts. “Newcastle girls are dogs,” he wheezed. “England is full of them. Me, I like blondes, big bust, good legs. I don’t like coloured girls. I want a lesbian show with handcuffs.”

Whatever Shepherd was paying the poor girls, it wasn’t nearly enough.

Best preMier league 3 representatives 2007-08 P W D L F A GD PTS 20. Derby County (R) 38 1 8 29 20 89 -69 11

It’s about this height guys

4 Best on-field fisticuffs

Having been sent off for taking on half the Arsenal team, more or less, in September 1998, Sheffield Wednesday’s Paolo Di Canio showed his displeasure by shoving referee Paul Alcock in the chest before trudging off to the showers. Having turned his back, he didn’t see the farce unfolding behind him as Alcock staggered backwards like a drunkard before falling on his arse in seven sorry instalments. But that was merely Act 1.

Having watched this unfold, panto season came early as Arsenal’s heroic Nigel Winterburn leapt to the ref’s assistance and gave Di Canio a piece of his mind as he walked off. Hearing this, the Italian turned, drew his fist back and nearly wet himself at the sight of Winterburn running for his life. Frankly, the whole incident reflected badly on all involved.

42 | August 10 2012 |

in oUr SiGHTS: THe Prem’S beST biTS

Golden Girl Sport caught up with Jess ennis the morning after the night before – when she had taken an emotional olympic gold in the women’s heptathlon...

Sport THe SAGe roberto dI matteo Is on borrowed tIme Not a ball yet kicked in earnest, and we’re wondering how long the coach of last season’s Champions League winners has left in the job.

It’s a nonsense, of course, but that’s football…

We didn’t have to wonder for long – 12 league games and around three months was the answer.

26 | December 21 2012 |

roberTo di maTTeo is on borrowed Time not a ball yet kicked in earnest and we’re wondering how long the coach of last season’s Champions League winners has left in the job. It’s a nonsense, of course, but that’s football, particularly when the man you call The Boss is Roman Abramovich.

He never wanted Di Matteo to have the big job – he wanted a prestige name making astronomical salary demands. But the Miracle of Munich forced his hand. So he gave the Italian a slap in the face with a two-year contract, all the while fluttering his eyelashes at Pep Guardiola.

pIckIng the rIght manager...

“I found it was best to put a manager ill at ease when interviewing them, or else they just tell you what you want to hear and then come into the job and do what they f**king please... If you own a club, get yourself into the changing room asap and listen to a teamtalk, because there’s f**k all going on in most dressing rooms, I can tell you. I saw so many teamtalks from so many managers that would not inspire snotty 16-year-old sales people, let alone multimillionaire players.”

Simon Jordan

Sport celebrated 20 years of the Premier league by presenting our favourite moments.

And at number six, with (literally) a bullet…

6. Best most remarkaBle yet somehow inevitaBle moment How was Ashley Cole to know the high-powered air rifle he found and waved at the work experience kid was loaded? How could anyone have known? Hey, it’s just bants. It happens.

You need to lighten up.

No. 8

Ahead of the new Premier league season, we unwisely stuck our scrawny neck out on a few things, including this…

HOw TO RUN a fOOTBaLL CLUB (THE SIMON JORdaN way)

Found a few million down the back of the sofa and fancy dipping your toe into the world of football ownership? Having lost all his money in a 10-year stint in charge of Crystal Palace, Simon Jordan has some handy tips to help you on your way STEP ONE PICKING THE RIGHT CLUB “People buy football clubs for a variety of reasons — ego, credibility, life insurance — but I bought Crystal Palace because it was the club I supported and I felt I had the energy, drive and the money to turn a club with great potential into one that realised that potential.

There’s no blueprint to go about buying a football club, but the one rule you need to know is the smallest cheque you ever write is the one you write to buy it.

“There’s a possibility you can make money in football, but there are easier businesses to make money in because it’s geared and weighted against you. You’re in an archaic industry that only allows you to sell your products twice a year; you’re lumped in with

72 other clubs in a football league where the rules that would fit the bottom team in League Two aren’t going to fit the top Championship side; and, worst of all, you’re governed by an antiquated, out-of-touch, self-interested organisation — the FA. “You get access to everything you ask to get access for before you buy a club, so you can ensure the books are balanced, the stadium’s in good nick and everything is ready to build on. The situation with me was very different because I had come in at a very late stage in Palace’s administration. I backed myself and figured I had the ability to overcome any of the obstacles that were going to arise, so I didn’t do the due diligence, which cost me a few million quid. One week after I took over, the league came to me and said the roof on one of the stands needed replacing. For £350k. And if you don’t replace it, we’ll shut the stand down for the season.

Welcome to the world of football!”

STEP TwO PICKING THE RIGHT MaNaGER “Look at the managers I had and you’ll see there’s no art form to picking one. Steve Coppell I inherited and there was no relationship between us. Alan Smith was just

stupidity on my part because it really was ‘fly by the seat of my pants’ and I didn’t know what I was doing. Steve Bruce I got right because he was the right age, right dynamic and had the right leadership qualities. Trevor Francis I got wrong, because Trevor didn’t have the right wherewithals for that stage in his life. Iain Dowie I got right, despite the fact I don’t have a great regard for the man. Peter Taylor I got completely wrong and I know I got it wrong, and Neil Warnock I got right... so I think I got it right 50 per cent of the time.

“I always found it was best to put a manager ill at ease when interviewing them, or else they just tell you what you want to hear and then come into the job and do what they f**king please. It’s hard to know what to look for, but the managers who were successful for me — Iain Dowie, Neil Warnock and Steve Bruce — share similar characteristics as leaders of men. If you own a club, get yourself into the changing room asap and listen to a teamtalk, because there’s f**k-all going on in most dressing rooms, I can tell you. I saw so many teamtalks from so many managers that would not inspire snotty 16-year-old sales people, let alone multimillionaire players.

“Bruce and Warnock, especially Warnock, were people who, if I were a footballer, >

| August 31 2012 | 35

Simon SAyS...

Former crystal Palace chairman and self-made millionnaire Simon Jordan gave us an insight into what it‘s like to run a football club ahead of the release of his autobiography, Be Careful What You Wish For:

Photography by James Lincoln

What do you put your good start to the year down to?

“We tweaked my technique over the winter, after we found out there was a major issue with my penultimate step before take-off. What I do now is based around what Carl Lewis used to do, which is a lateral step outwards in your penultimate step. Rather than putting a lot of strain on my hamstrings – which has caused me a lot of problems – we’re now offloading that on to different parts of my body.”

Was that something that came out of the video analysis you do?

“Yeah, it’s something that’s relatively new to me. It was only when I started training with my most recent coach, Dan Pfaff, that we began using videos as a training aid.

It’s given me the ability to watch back other jumpers’ techniques and compare myself to them, which has really helped me develop.

My coach is a genius. He’ll look at me and say: ‘You can take this aspect of this person’s jump, which works for them, but you can also take this from another person because that will work for you.’ Which is better than: ‘This works for this person – do all of it.’”

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

With current world champion Dwight Phillips out injured and you holding the longest jump of the year (8.35m, shared with Russian teen Sergey Morgunov), does that make you a gold-medal contender?

“I’m among them, but Mitchell Watt from Australia takes the title of favourite going into it. After some of the distances he jumped last year, he’ll go in there with people expecting him to jump really far.

I’m in the top three or so who go in thinking that, if things go well, they should win a medal. I’ll put that pressure on myself, too, because I want to win. I expect nothing less than winning a medal.

I’d be devastated to come away without one – it would make my year a complete disaster, no matter what I did before or afterwards.”

player relatIons...

“In general I like footballers… I don’t judge footballers as thick or selfish because they are footballers, I judge them as human beings. If they’re thick and selfish, then it’s because they’re thick and selfish, not because they’re footballers.”

SEPTEMBER

T

Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images

hree days after winning team pursuit gold, Trott was in silvermedal position going into the omnium’s sixth and final event, needing to beat her nearest rival by three places in the 500m time trial to win gold.

“I was always dreaming that I’d do the double of the team pursuit and omnium because I did it at the World Championships.

But, I mean, I still surprised myself a bit.

I am a really competitive person though, so I wouldn’t have been happy unless I’d won.

When I was going into the last race and I was in second place, I was like: ‘I’m not going to let her [silver-medallist Sarah Hammer] beat me, I want this title for myself.’

I hadn’t expected her to beat me in the fifth event – the scratch race – before that, so I was a bit like: ‘Woah, where did that come from?’ But I know my timed events are good and the last event, the 500m, is my best. It’s the strongest, most predictable one for me, so I thought I could do it. I just needed a bit of luck to go with it.

Before the Games, I thought we’d win the team pursuit because we hadn’t lost a race all year. And I thought I might come away with a medal in the omnium. But winning it?

I wasn’t sure. The only time I’d ever beaten all them girls was at the worlds. I didn’t know if it was a fluke or if I’d be able to repeat it.

Life’s gone pretty nuts since the closing ceremony. The first two weeks after, the press attention was crazy – especially with the whole me and my boyfriend Jason [Kenny, sprint gold-medallist] thing. I never thought it would be as bad as that. I see Victoria Pendleton in the newspapers now and again, but I was on the front pages!

It’s a pretty big deal, isn’t it?” >

“i am a really competitive person, so i wouldn’t have been happy unless i had won”

34 | September 7 2012 |

HOT TO TROTT Double gold-medallist Laura Trott on some crazy post-Olympic coverage:

ICC World

VicToriA PendLeTon cycLinG: Keirin

Q

ueen Vic started her final competitive meet with team sprint relegation alongside Jess Varnish, but recovered to take keirin gold before failing to defend her individual sprint title after a controversial relegation in the final against long-time rival Anna Meares.

“Obviously it would be nice to have more than one gold medal, but sometimes things don’t go your way. I knew I was in good shape for the team sprint – the times of my split were really good, and Jess was going well. It was frustrating knowing that you have the form, and then not having the opportunity to make it happen.

The biggest thing for me in the past in the keirin has been indecision. It was mine to lose almost, and I was just really determined. I thought: ‘I don’t care what they’re doing – I’m just going to take the race on when it’s time for me.’ And that’s what I did.

I was so delighted. The day couldn’t have gone better for me after the day before [when she and Varnish were relegated in the team sprint after making an illegal change-over in their semi final], so I was overwhelmed, so happy and relieved all at the same time.

It was probably one of the most enjoyable moments of my entire career, stepping on the podium for that keirin gold.

I would have liked to have won the individual sprint – I don’t care who it was against. The whole rivalry thing between Anna and myself is created solely by the media. During the Olympics, a member of the Australian media asked me: “Is Anna Meares a cow?” Would a member of the media ask Sir Chris Hoy that about Jason Kenny? I don’t think so. I think because I’m female they expect some kind of bitchy element behind it all, and they think they can ask me a question like that. But I’m a professional sportsperson and I find it a little bit insulting.

At the time [of her relegation in the first leg of the individual sprint final] I didn’t see any footage, but I was a little bit annoyed because I didn’t think I’d done anything intentional, and then when I did see it I did think it was a little bit unfair. It’s sad when it comes down to that – if it was a straight line race and I crossed the line second, it would have been a lot easier to handle.

The overall feeling for me is relief. I feel relieved that it was a positive result to a very difficult four years, and not just for me but the whole of the team. I think it was pretty much on par with what I was imagining, but I was imagining the worst! Going in as Olympic champion and competing on home turf is the hardest thing I will ever have to do in my life. I’m glad I don’t ever have to do it again – that’s the honest truth. I would have been gutted if I had made the decision not to go to London because it was an amazing experience.

But if you asked me if I want to do it again, I’d say no thank you.” >

“ i’m glad i don’t ever have to do it again – that’s the honest truth”

while Victoria Pendleton was just pleased it was all over...

| September 7 2012 | 39

“Going in as Olympic champion and competing on home turf is the hardest thing I will ever have to do in my life. I’m glad I don’t ever have to do it again – that’s the honest truth. I’d have been gutted if I had made the decision not to go to London, because it was an amazing experience. But if you asked me if I want to do it again, I’d say: ‘No thank you.’”

CRICkET TIPSTERS...

Twenty20

QUEEN VIC BOwS OUT

Let the games begin

Thirty-two teams kick off the Champions League group stages this week, each dreaming of picking up Old Big Ears next May. Sadly, so many can only dream...

West Indies

Key man A powerful brute with the bat and a deadly

Sri Lanka

Key man Jacques Kallis can smack boundaries,

Pakistan

Key man Big-hitting Brendon McCullum (above, left)

Possess rapid-fire scorers in Kieron Pollard, Chris Gayle (top) and Marlon Samuels, plus the Windies are so amply stocked with all-rounders that their batting line-up is as long as it is potentially destructive.

Slow pitches may not suit their pace attack, but off-spinner Sunil Narine had a superb 2012 Indian Premier League. Dark horses who could do damage.

Ageing but still highly able batsmen such as Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan and captain Mahela Jayawardene could help Sri Lanka set mammoth totals on home soil. In common with many of the favourites, their bowling is less strong, being highly reliant on mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis and paceman Lasith Malinga. Should make the semi finals at the very least.

bowl tight overs and take spectacular catches.

But apart from all that, he‘s a pretty crap cricketer.

Ireland

Zimbabwe

In superb form but always unpredictable, Pakistan have landed in the most competitive group. The spin talent of Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi (top) and Mohammad Hafeez will bamboozle on Sri Lankan pitches, while the yorker machine that is Umar Gul adds to a rich bowling line-up. The batting has raw power but is often wayward and could be the team’s undoing in the latter stages.

Bangladesh

Twenty20 cricket, hit 59 sixes in the 2012 IPL. The next highest individual total was 20.

Australia An intriguing mix of youth (pace bowler Mitchell Starc is a rising star at 22), old hands (Brad Hogg is 41) and an inexperienced captain in George Bailey. Hussey bros Mike and David are part of an exciting batting unit, but their bowlers could leak runs. Expect the Windies six-shooters to go after Hogg and co hard.

strike bowler, blonde bombshell Shane Watson (second top) is two excellent Twenty20 players in one.

Upset of England at the 2011 World Cup, as well as their win over Bangladesh at the 2009 World Twenty20, show that Ireland can always spring a limited overs surprise. Much depends on 6ft 7ins quick bowler Boyd Rankin and talented tweaker George Dockrell suppressing two potent batting line-ups. The team‘s sharp fielding will count for nothing if they‘re just watching sixes sail overhead.

Key man Ireland tend to slog with the bat, so stocky Paul Stirling (above) will need to show his class.

Fixtures Wednesday Sep 19: Australia v Ireland | Saturday September 22: Australia v West Indies | Monday September 24: Ireland v West Indies

Key man Lasith Malinga (top) has a crazy bowling action, crazier hair and is the world‘s best T20 bowler.

South Africa AB de Villiers – a mix of innovative shots and speed between the wickets – is an ideal Twenty20 batsman and he captains a balanced all-round team. Superb death bowlers (Dale Steyn, Jacques Kallis – above), big hitters (JP Duminy, Albie Morkel) and a confidencebuilding summer make South Africa favourites of the non-subcontinent teams. So long as they don‘t choke.

A brittle looking and inexperienced Zimbabwe team appear on paper (and probably on pitches) unlikely to trouble their Group C rivals. They have the potential to score runs higher in the order, with opener Hamilton Masakadza and captain Brendan Taylor (above) a cut above their teammates. That 36-year-old spinner Ray Price remains key to their attack is not a good sign.

has more international Twenty20 runs than any player and can cart even the best bowlers all over the ground.

reliable that it once was, but his leg spin is craftier than ever before. A big-occasion player as well.

Despite springing the odd upset, have yet to push on and prove they deserve their oft-given label of dangermen.

On conditions so similar to their home pitches, this is their best chance. Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan and Abdur Razzak give them great turn options, but the Tigers have never beaten Pakistan in an international Twenty20. Opening match against the Kiwis looks key.

Key man Brendan Taylor hit 60 off 45 balls as

New Zealand

Key man The 23-year-old Tamim Iqbal (above) has

Zimbabwe upset Australia in the 2007 World Twenty20. Further heroics will be required this time.

The comeback of Daniel Vettori adds economic spin and lower-order batting class to bolster New Zealand, while Jacob Oram excelled in this year’s Sri Lankan Premier League and will also be hard to score off.

However, the Kiwis have struggled in all forms of cricket in 2012. This may be a side just past its peak.

yet to live up to his huge potential, but if this stylish left-hander can fire, the Super Eight beckons.

Fixtures Tuesday Sep 18: Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe | Thursday September 20: South Africa v Zimbabwe | Saturday 22 September: Sri Lanka v South Africa

Key man Shahid Afridi’s booming batting is less

Fixtures Friday 21 Sep: Bangladesh v New Zealand | Sunday 23 September: New Zealand v Pakistan | Tuesday 25 Setember: Bangladesh v Pakistan

| 35

34 | September 14 2012 |

“I think as an England team, Twitter has done us a lot of good. It has made the fans feel closer to us, I think – like it’s their team. They know what you’re up to, can get a feel for your personality... but it works Case for both ways. If you’ve had a bad the defence day, it opens you up. It used to be just 20 journalists who had a pen who could nail you, but now it’s open to the world – Speaking in the wake of and that’s where, as athletes, the kP Genius row: you have to be careful.”

All pictures Getty Images

Key man Chris Gayle, the Don Bradman of

They possess rapid-fire scorers in Kieron Pollard, Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels, plus the West Indies are so amply stocked with all-rounders that their batting line-up is as long as it is potentially destructive. Slow pitches may not suit their pace attack, but off-spinner Sunil Narine had a superb 2012 Indian Premier League. Dark horses who could do damage.

GROUP B

Our assessment of the west Indies’ ICC world Twenty20 challenge was pretty good, even if we say so ourselves:

Issue 275 | September 28 2012

The Ryder Cup starts here

How long do you think it’ll take before everything starts to gel?

“I’d probably say about 10 games. I know that probably sounds quite a lot, it’s a quarter of the season, but 10 games is a good amount of time to gel, I think. After that we’ll have to look at the table and the results and see if everything’s going well. I’m confident it will be.”

28 | December 21 2012 |

ULTER IAN PO

UT O S E M CO INGING

SW ncle

(Why U

s legions of Football Manager fans will tell you, spending big doesn’t always equate to instant success. Manchester City and Chelsea’s respective millions have them flying high, but at the other end of the table are Queens Park Rangers – who scraped to Premier League safety on the final day of last season despite being bankrolled by Tony Fernandes and the super-wealthy Mittal family (combined net worth approximately $20bn). They’ve spent big in the past three transfer windows, adding 26 players for almost £36m, but have started this season poorly – they sit 18th in the Premier League after four games. We spoke to 31-year-old striker Bobby Zamora, who signed from Fulham in January, for the inside track on the Premier League’s new big spenders.

A

QPR were struggling with relegation when you joined – what motivated that decision?

“I wasn’t really happy at Fulham – I think

“Tony Fernandes is like a normal bloke, just with a ridiculous amount of money” 28 | September 21 2012 |

that’s been the case for a few people.

The opportunity came to link up with Mark Hughes, who I had a good year with at Fulham even though I was injured for a lot of it.

But the season I had with them [Hughes and his team], I really enjoyed the way they work.

It was sold to me that it was an ambitious club, and obviously knowing Mark and his team, I know they wouldn’t go there if they didn’t think it was going to be the right club for them.”

Was that part of what attracted you – the fact that the club were spending money on bringing in players?

“Yeah, when I spoke to Tony Fernandes, he said they wanted to push on and promised they’d sign some good players. I’d heard about Djibs [Djibril Cisse] coming in, and a few other players they were looking to get as well. At the time, they said all the right things, and it was a move I was very happy to make. I think if you look now at the players we’re signing, they certainly are ambitious – and are following through with what they said to me in January.”

Is Tony Fernandes quite involved with the players?

“Tony is a very nice guy, and he’s always

r Cup s Ryde Europe’ n’t take Sam wo

t a fight)

withou

very approachable. He comes to the training ground and to the stadium, and he’s someone who just pops in who you can talk to about anything, really. I’m sure if anyone here has any problems, they can talk to him. He’s very hands-on. I think whenever you’ve seen him in the press, he’s been quite relaxed. He’s like a normal bloke, just with a ridiculous amount of money.”

The club have brought in 11 new players over the summer [see box, overleaf].

Has it been difficult to incorporate so many new faces into the team?

“Yeah – I mean I’m sure it’s like that in any walk of life. If you get 11 new faces thrown together in your office, it’s going to be hard to work together straight away. But I’m sure after a little bit of time you’ll all gel, click and put a good mag together [no comment, Bobby]. It’s pretty much the same situation with us – we have good-quality players, and everyone knows they’re quality. At the minute, it’s a bedding-in period, and we can see weekly for ourselves that people are learning. We’re still excited – even though we’re not in a great position at the minute, we’re only a few games in. So, really, it

Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

THE POSTMaN DELIVERS Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

*after 10 games were up, QPR had four points

Bobby Zamora

When your club’s spending loads and plays at Loftus Road - it’s Zamora

Dinamo Zagreb

Manchester City-lite, the latest plaything of filthy-rich Arab sheikhs. Signalled their ambition in recruiting Carlo Ancelotti and hoovering up €150m worth of talent – including Zlatan Ibrahimovic (right, for €23m), Ezequiel Lavezzi (€30m), Thiago Silva (€42m), Lucas Moura (€45m).

Officially only the second best team in France and 48th in Europe, but too rich to not reach the last 16.

Champions of Croatia’s Prva HNL for the seventh successive season, but they finished rock bottom of Group D last time, below Ajax, Lyon and Real Madrid, and utterly pointless in their first appearance since 2000. Ranked 82nd by Uefa.

Through via playoffs and promising a better showing this time, which won’t be hard. But still no progress.

Arsenal

FC Schalke

Olympiacos

Ever-presents (this is their 15th straight season) and through the groups for the past 13 seasons, but this could be trickier. No RvP and no Alex Song (and questions remain over their replacements) – and now no genuine hope of winning the cup they got one paw on in 2006. Last 16 represents success – and that’s where it may end.

Uefa ranking of sixth reflects better days.

Semi-finalists in 2011, but had to settle for Europa League last year and staggered in third in Bundesliga, 17 points off the top. Lost Raul to Al Sadd of Saudi Arabia and signed Chinedu Obasi, Tranquillo Barnetta and Roman Neustadter - we don’t know if this is good or bad – plus signed Ibrahim Afellay on loan from Barcelona (this is good). Uefa rank them an accurate 21st – we predict an early exit.

Greek champions now chasing their seventh successive title, and the team who employ Manchester United’s former Mr Reliable Roy Carroll between their sticks.

Intimidating at home in Piraeus, far less cocksure on their travels.

Quarter-finalists in 1999, but have never gone as far since and won’t again this time.

Uefa rank them 32nd, we stick our neck out and predict last 16.

Montpellier HSC The 140th finest team in European football, beat Paris St-Germain to their first ever Ligue 1 title last season, then lost top scorer Olivier Giroud to Arsenal.

A team of players you won’t have heard of, plus John Utaka (right). Their only previous in Europe was as Intertoto Cup winners in 1999, but that was the year three teams won it, including West Ham. Gone at the groups. >

Celtic: Rank: 63rd. Out: early.

Borussia Dortmund: Will not progress.

Shakhtar Donetsk: Out early.

FC Schalke: We predict an early exit.

BROaD ON TwITTER

New money

Paris SaintGermain

Okay, so not everything we said ahead of the Champions League group stages came true...

Sport speaks to England T20 captain Stuart Broad

Early season, and Bobby Zamora gives QPR 10 games* to get things right...

Dynamo Kiev Champions League semifinalists as recently as 1999, souped up by the goals of Andrei Shevchenko and Serhiy Rebrov, Dynamo are no longer the dominant force in Ukraine (see: Shakhtar). Last season they were knocked out in Champions League qualifying

by Rubin Kazan, this time they at least reached the group stage.

Ranked 31st and, put bluntly, won’t progress.

...BUT NOT fOOTBaLL

Issue 274 | September 21 2012

OVEROPTIMISTIC

FC Porto Portuguese champions for the 26th time last season, the 2004 Champions League winners under Jose Mourinho exited tamely at the group stage last time round and have just lost bruising Brazilian goal threat Hulk to Zenit (and not Chelsea, in the end) for a cool €40m. Uefa rank them a generous ninth, based heavily on previous years, but they still have enough to grace the last 16.

Adrian Dennis /AFP/Getty Images, Philippe Huguen/AFP/Getty Images, Sebastien Bozon/AFP/Getty Images

cycLinG: TeAM pURsUiT And OMniUM

London 2012: The Gold-Medallists

GROUP A

LAURA TROTT

“Life’s gone pretty nuts since the closing ceremony.

The first two weeks after, the press attention was crazy – especially with the whole me and my boyfriend Jason [Kenny, sprint goldmedallist] thing. I never thought it would be as bad as that. I see Victoria Pendleton in the newspapers now and again, but I was on the front pages! It’s a pretty big deal, isn’t it?”

Carl De Souza/AFP/GettyImages

London 2012: The Gold-Medallists

Ian Poulter on the eve of the Ryder Cup, shortly before he almost single-handedly carried Europe to victory...

“Why does the RydeR Cup mean so muCh to me? I thInk It does stRange thIngs to people beCause the stakes aRe so hIgh. I thInk It’s paRtly the CamaRadeRIe you have WIth youR teammates, WhICh I love, and paRtly the eneRgy you get fRom the fans. In the RydeR Cup you’ve got 20 to 30,000 fans CheeRIng solely foR you and youR team, WatChIng matChplay golf In WhICh eveRy shot Counts. that just gIves It a Completely dIffeRent vIbe. that bRIngs out the extRa passIon In me. I feed off them and they feed off me.”

OCTOBER SOPHIE’S CHOICE

London Paralympics The Gold-Medallists

Issue 276 | October 5 2012

Sophie Christiansen, who won equestrian gold at the Paralympics, makes some hasty plans for the future:

David Weir

“It was a big risk performing to Pink Floyd – but it paid off”

Exclusive interview

Sophie Christiansen Freestyle Test Grade 1a, Championship Test Grade 1a, Team Championship

Scott Heavey/Getty Images

After the heroics of the Olympic Team GB riders at London 2012, the pressure was on the Paralympians to follow suit. With Sophie Christiansen leading the way, however, they did exactly that “At the start of the Games, people were labelling me as a veteran because I’d already been to two Paralympics. I was like: ’Hold on, you’re making me sound old when I’m still only 24!’ Everyone knew about me, though, being that I had won two golds and a silver in Beijing – so the pressure on me felt enormous.

In all honesty, this year has been the toughest of my career. My old horse had to be put down because of an injury last year; I had bought Rio [her current horse, known in competition as Janeiro] a couple of months before, but I wanted to take it slow with him because I knew how talented he was. Suddenly he was my only

horse, so we had to form a partnership quickly if we were going to make London. I was desperate to go to my home Games, but my desperation was transferring through to Rio and affecting our performances.

Then I met Leon Taylor [former Olympic diver who won silver in Athens in 2004] at a conference, and he took me back to basics. I had lost the key ingredient of having fun with my sport – once I had the smile back on my face, everything changed and my results rocketed.

Leon is the most inspirational person I have ever met – and I’ve met a lot of people. He has such energy and positivity, which is exactly what I needed.

We had seen the able-bodied riders do so well at the Olympics, so we felt that we had to go and win gold – but I wasn’t too worried because I knew how good both my teammates and Rio were. Going out and performing to Pink Floyd in the individual was a big risk, because dressage music is normally quite... well, boring! Equestrian can be a bit insular and doesn’t always see the bigger picture, but this was my time – I’m really into music and wanted to make it my own, and the risk obviously paid off. It’s great that I’ve helped get the sport more publicity, and it’s cool that people now refer to dressage as ’dancing with horses’.

What now? I graduated from uni last year, with a first-class degree in maths, so I’ve been working as a statistician. But with the success I’ve had, I’d love to do more public speaking. I love going in to talk at schools; chatting to young people gives me the same kind of buzz I get from competing. I’ll need to do it quickly, though, before everyone forgets who I am...”

16 2452012 28||August October 2012| |

”What now? I graduated from uni last year with a first-class degree in maths, so I’ve been working as a statistician. But with the success I’ve had, I’d love to do more public speaking. I love going in to talk at schools; chatting to young people gives me the same kind of buzz I get from competing.

I’ll need to do it quickly, though, before everyone forgets who I am...”

The Greatest Racehorse

The Greatest

Tomorrow, the world’s most famous racehorse defends his unbeaten record for the last time. As we prepare to bid farewell to Frankel, Sport looks back on a glittering career through the eyes of those who know him best

A

ll good things must come to an end, they say. And so, two years and two months after we first saw him on a racecourse, Frankel is to run his last race. Tomorrow’s QIPCO Champion Stakes at Ascot is the most valuable race over its 10-furlong distance in Europe, with a staggering total purse of £1.3m, but such is the legend of its most notable entrant that few will even notice the detail. For this race is all about the four-year-old bay horse with the large white star on his face and four white feet; the colt who has been trained by the iconic Sir Henry Cecil to win all 13 of his races to date; the powerhouse whose Timeform rating of 147 marks him out as the highest-rated horse in the 64-year history of that much-respected organisation. Put simply, tomorrow is all about the horse many astute judges are calling the greatest the sport has ever seen.

The Paralympics revisited: what will be the real legacy?

David Weir reflects on his haul of four Paralympic gold medals:

You’re being called ‘the greatest’. Is that how you feel, with those four gold medals around your neck?

“I loved every minute of it when they said that – for Jeff Adams to say it is something, because he was a great wheelchair racer himself. Then I had Heinz Frei saying it to me as well, and he was my idol growing up. It’s a special phrase, but it’s a little bit hard to accept. I still think I’m dreaming, sometimes. I feel like someone’s gonna click their fingers and I’ll wake up.”

Issue 277 | October 12 2012

Sean McMahon/www.molecatcherart.co.uk

WEIRWOLF IN LONDON

Not-so-humble beginnings Frankel is no rags-to-riches story. His tale begins early in 2007, when Prince Khalid Abdullah – a member of the Saudi royal family and one of the leading figures in the world of thoroughbred horse racing – sent one of his broodmares, Kind, to visit the former Derby winner Galileo. The Prince will have paid handsomely for the privilege; the website for Coolmore Stud in Ireland, where Galileo currently stands, reveals that his stud fee for 2012 is listed as ’private’ – this suggests it is over and above £100,000 per cover.

“The plan was that Galileo had developed into one of the best stallions in the world, if not the best,“ recalls Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager to Prince Khalid. “And you want your best mares to go to the best stallions.“ Quite, although Kind had proven best over the sprint distance of six furlongs while Galileo was a stoutly bred horse who had excelled over twice that distance – there was to be no certainty about what kind of racehorse their union would produce, although the early signs were encouraging.

HORSE OF a LIFETImE Trainer Sir Henry Cecil on horse of a lifetime Frankel, ahead of his stunning success in his final race, the QIPCO Champion Stakes...

very good to me, and they don’t deserve to be compared. but I thInk It would be wrong to say he Isn’t the best horse there’s ever been; I thInk that would be very wrong and unkInd and unfaIr to say he’s not the best. because he could be...”

IN aRSENE HE TRUSTS What about your manager at Arsenal, Arsene Wenger – what were your first impressions of him?

“The first time I met him was actually on the day I signed.

He’s a nice man, you know? He’s very calm and has that sort of aura about him; you know he’s the boss. The way he speaks is really intelligent and everything he said to me on that first day was quite inspirational. It gave me a lot of drive to come in and prove he made the right decision to sign me.”

30 | December 21 2012 |

Out of the ordinary The man in charge of deciding when that would be was one of the most successful, charismatic and popular men in the sport: trainer Sir Henry Cecil. “He used to be very precocious, strong and free,“ Sir Henry remembers in an interview that takes place in his study, commemorative plates of some of his many classic wins littering his coffee table like ashtrays.

“It took us about a year and a half to get him to relax properly, but those horses that pull very hard are usually no good; they do all their best work at the beginning of a race and not at the end. They run themselves into the ground, you know?

“But I realised he was out of the ordinary about halfway through that year – there’s something very different about him. He has a real presence about him... he’s not a normal horse; he has this amazing stride and finds everything so easy. I don’t like the word ’freak’, but he is very out of the ordinary.“ Cecil is a trainer renowned for his instinct and patience, a man who dislikes rushing his two-yearold juveniles into action, less still waxing lyrical about them before they have even run – but in March 2010, five months before Frankel made his racecourse debut at Newmarket, he let his guard slip.

“We had taken Twice Over [another Cecil horse owned by Abdullah] to run in the Dubai World Cup,“ reveals Mick McGowan, the travelling head lad who will drive Frankel to Ascot this evening before checking on him every two hours throughout the night. >

“I’ve had lots of champIons, all of whom have been

If arsene Wenger is feeling the pressure, he can look back to alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s words about him in October to cheer himself up:

Alex Oxlade–Chamberlain on England, Arsenal and life in the fast lane

“By about October 2009, we had him rated as our best yearling,“ continues Grimthorpe. “That doesn’t necessarily mean anything, of course – we’ve had some so-called best yearlings who are still waiting to win a race. But by the time he we went into Henry’s [yard] in early January 2010, we thought he was pretty smart. We had a good idea he was going to be something interesting, but it’s only when you get them to the racecourse that you really find out how interesting.“

He seems like a manager who likes to be quite involved on the training pitch…

“Yeah he does, but he does it in a clever way. It’s not like you hear him shouting a lot in training, but he’s always watching – he doesn’t miss anything. And if he sees something, he’ll always remember it and bring it up next week or the week after to remind you what you weren’t doing or what you need to be doing. So he’s very clever in the way he watches training and observes all of us.”

Issue 279 | October 26 2012

POWER BROKER The stars, the suits, the salesmen: we bring you the 50 most powerful people in British sport...

What we said about David Cameron, top of our annual Power List. Whenever you‘re ready, Dave...

“he needs to get on the front foot and start delIverIng better facIlItIes, equIpment, coachIng and opportunItIes for everyone In the country to play sport. anythIng less would be a shameful derelIctIon of duty.”

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Rules of

A player is not deemed to be cheating if between his last round and the next, he lies about his whereabouts, slips down to Urban Golf and enjoys a spot of midweek practice, and shall not be reprimanded by the fossils on the committee for such a deliberate act.

World Number One, Luke Donald, says the new aboutGolf™ simulator will “improve any golf game”. We have twenty. You can use them to practice, play up to 60 different championship courses, or have a lesson with one of our PGA coaches. Using the best equipment to play better isn’t cheating. To book an hour this week, go to www.urbangolf.co.uk or call 020 7248 6800. Urban Golf rules.

NOVEMBER Ricky’s REtuRN

Issue 280 | November 2 2012

three weeks before an emotional boxing comeback, Ricky Hatton spoke to us about his reasons for returning...

The resurrection of Ricky Hatton

“It’s like there’s this fella that sits on my shoulder every day. He says to me: ‘You fucking let people down, you let your kids down. What a disgrace. You were Ricky Hatton. Everyone loved you – man of the people and all that. Now look what you’ve done.’ That’s what I have to deal with every day...”

“This is about someone who was loved so much to becoming, I feel, a bit of a joke. So it’s not just whether I come back and win a world title. It’s about the fact that I can return after three years, shift all that weight, fight at the MEN, sell it out, do people proud again. It’s a win already, before I’ve even laced the gloves up.”

“The manner of what happens on November 24 will give people a better indication of where I’m heading.

It’ll either be: ‘Rick, you give it a go, fair play, but hang them back up again.’ Or it’ll be: ‘Fucking hell! You better watch out guys.’”

What happened on November 24 was that Hatton was knocked out by Vyacheslav Senchenko in nine rounds. He duly hung up his gloves once more, beaten but unbowed, that little fella on his shoulder gone.

Red dawn

new five-year deal, confirming his key role in Liverpool’s cultural revolution under the former Swansea boss. We recently caught up with the attacking midfielder, whose accented English carries just a hint of Scouse on certain words. As quickly becomes apparent, he loves life in the northwest.

Why did you choose Liverpool over one of the big Spanish clubs?

“I think the feeling of playing every game at Anfield was something different to Real Madrid or Barcelona. I signed a new contract a few weeks ago – I’m really happy and hopefully it will carry on like that.”

Was it hard to adjust to life in England at first?

“Oh yeah, yeah – it was a little bit difficult because it was a different culture, a different language. I didn’t speak English before, so it was really hard. But I came here to play football, so I tried to learn the English and adapt to the city really quickly.” >

Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images

Liverpool’s newest Spanish star could be a key player in their youth-led revolution. Suso talks to Sport

or all his faults, Rafa Benitez could clearly be pretty persuasive. Why else, when faced with a choice between Real Madrid or Liverpool, would a Spanish starlet who spoke no English opt for the latter? But that’s just what Benitez persuaded Jesus Joaquin Fernandez Saenz de la Torre, better known as Suso, to do in the summer of 2010, at the age of just 16.

“It was Rafa who signed me,” he explains.

“We had a lot of Spanish people here and it was him who told me to trust him and to come here.” Just days later, though, Benitez was on his way out of Anfield – and the future looked decidedly uncertain for the promising attacking midfielder signed from Cadiz.

Two years of youth and reserve-team football followed, but this season the 18-year-old has been given his chance by Brendan Rodgers – who, as Suso points out more than once, really likes the club’s young players. Suso has played only a handful of games for the Reds, but recently signed a

| November 16 2012 | 31

Issue 282 | November 16 2012

The Ba has been raised lympique Lyonnais, AJ Auxerre, Watford, Barnsley, VFB Stuttgart, Paris Saint-Germain, Lille, Arsenal, Charlton Athletic... if you were the chairman or owner of any of these clubs in the past five years, step forward, bend over and kick yourself firmly up the backside. Legend has it that each and every one of those teams looked closely, at one time or another, at a young footballer named Demba Ba – and each and every one of them decided that he wasn’t quite what they wanted or needed.

But then, why would they? Who needs a goalscorer who scored 16 in 36 games for his club last season? And who would want a man who already has seven in nine Premier League appearances to his name this season? Who would really want the top division’s leading striker in their team?

Goals are overrated anyway.

Now, it might make some kind of sense if Demba Ba had been overlooked when he was just another young footballer with raw potential, but he’d already turned 20 – and in a game where many clubs have identified their future stars before they even turn 10. The answer came back time and again: non, no, nein.

It took Ba until he was 22 for a team of any real European standing to take a chance on him, and even then 1899 Hoffenheim were languishing in Bundesliga 2.

But, with his foot finally in the door, he grabbed the chance and began to make up for lost time. Today, then, as Sport sits down with him on Tyneside for an exclusive interview, the opening question asks itself...

O

So what kept you, Demba? Why did it take so long for you to break into professional football?

“Why? Well, the problem was that nobody wanted to take me – that is why. If I could have had a team when I was 15 and gone through an academy like everyone else, I would have been happy. But I went from trial to trial to trial and I would always end up with a negative answer, for whatever reason. It wasn’t that I chose to leave it late.

It wasn’t that I decided late that I wanted to play football, believe me. I was out there trying and trying, but always being told no.”

There must have come a point when you thought it wouldn’t happen – when you thought you might have to look at doing something else?

“Never. Never. I was disappointed every time, of course.

But there were always positives that I could take and work on. And I was always saying to myself: ’If not here, then somewhere else.’ Everything happens for a reason, and I’m very happy with how my career has gone.”

When you play now, are you out to prove those teams wrong – that they made a mistake in rejecting you?

“No, no – the only point I want to prove is to myself.

The only thing I want to do is give the best and get off the pitch without any regret. I have nothing to prove to them, or anyone but myself.”

Stoke City’s decision not to sign you was different in that they claimed your left knee was a “ticking time bomb“. How much of a surprise was that to you?

“Yes, when I heard them say that I look at my agent and I say: ’Quick, get out the office, it’s going to blow!’ But like when I was doing my trials and going from rejection to rejection to rejection, I just took the view that if that’s what they thought, then so be it. If I didn’t join Stoke City, I’d give my services to someone else. Since that day I’ve played something like 50 games and I’ve scored, well, you’ve seen how many goals I’ve scored – I don’t have to prove my fitness to anyone.”

Life at the top Alastair Cook: England captain

Ten months later, you scored a hat-trick for Newcastle away at Stoke. Did that feel like payback?

“No. I mean, it felt special because it was a hat-trick, but I am not sure it meant any more because of what had happened. For example, it was nothing compared to the hat-trick I’d scored against Blackburn a few weeks earlier.

That was my first hat-trick in the Premier League – I was at home in front of 50,000 fans and the feeling of that was way, way better than the hat-trick at Stoke.”

What does it feel like to score a goal?

“Wow... it’s difficult, you know? Sometimes you’re so happy when you score, you cannot control your gestures – you don’t know what you are doing. You just go mad, you know? >

captaiN cOOk

| 33

32 | November 2 2012 |

GEORdiE dEMBa Newcastle striker demba Ba had advice for anyone struggling with the Geordie accent.

alastair cook was in confident mood ahead of a daunting tour of india – his first series as full-time captain of the England test cricket team...

BRENdaN’s BaiRNs young Liverpool midfielder suso revealed that manager Brendan Rodgers was very much looking to the youth for inspiration: “Brendan really likes the young players, and he’s giving us a chance and we are playing and doing well... at the beginning of the season he mentioned that he really likes the young players... as I say, he really likes the young players... it’s nice for him to give a chance to young players in a big team like Liverpool... he’s really nice, more like a friend, and he really likes the young players... he’ll try to help everyone, but especially the young players...”

FuRy sOuNds OFF ahead of his points victory against the american kevin Johnson, British heavyweight tyson Fury had another opponent on his mind...

“I don’t really know David Price as a person. I only know him as a character in my mind. He’s probably a nice fella, but to me he’s just an arch rival – and it’s not a big enough country for two 6ft 9ins heavyweights, so someone’s got to go. He has no experience of boxing people who can fight back, so when he actually fights someone who’s going to hit him, you’ll see him come unglued.”

Tyson Fury

Sound and the Fury Ahead of his fight with Kevin ’Kingpin’ Johnson on Saturday, unbeaten heavyweight Tyson Fury talks to Sport about his big tests, big improvements and big plans

Kevin Johnson has boxed at the very highest level, so is this an opponent who’s really going to test you?

“Yeah, I’m really excited about this one. It’s one of those fights where I get to showcase my skills against a world-class fighter. If I come through this, I’m knocking on the door for a world title fight, so it’s a must-win.”

Nobody has ever stopped him, not even Vitali Klitschko [who inflicted one of only two defeats, both on points, in 31 fights].

Is there an incentive to be the first?

“I’m not going to rush and look for a stoppage. I think that’s a mistake people make: trying to knock somebody out who’s hard to hit, never mind knock out. He’s got a good defence. It’s like a Floyd Mayweather defence, but at heavyweight, so he’s a hard man to land clean on. I’m just going to look to build the points up and, if I get him with a nice shot, then obviously I’ll jump on him and try and finish it.”

Have you seen much of him? Do you watch a lot of your opponents in general?

“Oh yeah, I’m a boxing encyclopaedia when it comes to heavyweights. I’ve seen a lot of Johnson and he’s very well schooled.

He’s got that Philadelphia style, where the shoulder rolls and the backhand comes right round. It’s going to be an awkward night, because I’ve never fought anybody of Johnson’s skill before. All the fighters I’ve fought have been classic, come-forward fighters. It’s hard to fight somebody who’s

not looking to come forward because you’ve got to go and find him and trick him into making a wrong move. It will be a bit of a chess match in the early stages, anyway.”

He’s said some things in the build-up to this fight: that he’ll beat you so badly you’ll want to retire, that you’re not in his class. Does that stuff fire you up, or is it all just part of the boxing hype?

“To be honest with you, if Johnson could do anything as good as he can talk, he’d be a multimillionaire by now. I’m not really interested in anything he’s got to say. He’s coming over to me, and I’m going to smash him in and that is it.”

But the chess match...

“I know he’s going to talk, but if I wanted to watch a circus I’d go to one and see a clown there. I’m not really interested in anything he’s got to say, because he’s the biggest mug I’ve ever heard. I watched the press conference after the Klitschko fight, and he said: ’Yeah, he beat me, but I’ll beat him next time.’ And said he was a better man than Klitschko – after he just got smashed to bits.

So he talks a lot of rubbish. It’s not going to get to me or make me change my gameplan.”

You’re only 24 – young for a heavyweight boxer. What have you been working on improving of late?

“My feet, my defence, my punch technique and my conditioning. I’ve been working on a lot of things over the past year and it’s >

| November 30 2012 | 47

PA Wire/Press Association Images

Suso

F

Demba Ba

Ben Duffy

“Well, they talk to me, but often it just sounds like noise.

So I make it up in my head and guess what they’re saying to me. I’m getting more used to it, but I do just nod a lot.

The thing is, I speak African English to them, so it’s hard to understand me sometimes.

But I still think African English is easier than Geordie.”

“Their home record is very sTrong, buT if you look

back aT when i firsT Took over The one-day capTaincy, we played sri lanka, who had jusT reached The final of The world cup, and india, who won iT. ThaT was a preTTy Tough sTarT, buT we won boTh of Those series.

The nexT Two monThs are going To TesT our resolve as a differenT Team wiTh a differenT leader. ThaT’s an exciTing challenge buT, if we are To have any chance of winning, scoring heavy runs is going To be viTal.” How right he was. Cook himself scored 562 runs at an average of 80.28, inspiring his side to a 2-1 series win and becoming the most prolific century-maker in English Test history

| December 21 2012 | 33

DECEMBER PositivE sPin

Issue 285 | December 7 2012

Louis Smith

Louis Smith is more famous than ever. Not just because he led Britain’s gymnasts to Olympic team bronze.

And not because of his individual brilliance on the pommel horse. It’s because he’s become that thing not all sportsmen are entirely at ease with having on their CV: a celebrity >

A confident Monty Panesar spoke to us in the aftermath of his victorious return to the England test team against india in Mumbai...

My turn Monty Panesar is back in the action

| December 7 2012 | 35

stRiCtly louis

in three tests, Panesar took 17 wickets at an average of 26.82

We asked double olympic gymnastics medallist louis smith how his body was coping with the rigours of training for Strictly Come Dancing...

Game ChanGer

Athletes of the Year Mo Farah

thE outsiDER Football writer Jonathan Wilson wrote a piece for us marking a century of football’s last barrier: the goalkeeper

It was the stuff of dreams when mo farah wrapped up hIs double long-dIstance gold In the olympIc stadIum thIs summer, shortly before another more personal double was added to hIs collectIon. Sport spoke to hIm to fInd out what happens when the dreamIng stops, and real lIfe begIns agaIn

w

hatever challenge mo farah decIdes to tackle next, wherever he decides the future lies for his growing family, and whenever he decides to reveal the full story of the twin brother he kept under wraps for so long, London 2012 will always be the time that changed his life forever.

“What a year!” he exclaims, and shakes his head before repeating a phrase that has been used so often by British Olympians in 2012, they should have it trademarked. “It’s never going to be the same again.”

Of all London’s Olympic champions, that statement rings most true for Farah, after he became the first British male ever to win a global title over 10,000m.

That was merely the warm-up, though, for the Olympic 5,000m title followed a week later, granting Farah entry into a select group of athletic greats who have achieved the gruelling long-distance double.

Then, less than a fortnight after Farah’s triumph on the track, came another double – the arrival of his twin daughters, Aisha and Amani. If he was in any doubt before, they are two constant reminders that the 29-year-old’s life will indeed never be the same again.

QUeSTIOnS anSWereD

Not that he isn’t trying to get back to some semblance of normality.

With winter training already under way in Portland, Oregon, alongside his coach and former marathon superstar Alberto Salazar, Farah is taking the first tentative steps into a potentially tricky period of his career. In winning double Olympic gold, Farah answered >

| December 14 2012 | 43

MARAthon Mo? Double olympic champion Mo Farah has a definite taste for success on home soil...

From the days oF 15 'Funk-sticks' on the same team to the modern sweeper-keeper, Jonathan wilson takes us through 100 years oF goalkeeping evolution

T

oday, we take the goalkeeper for granted. A football team is made up of 10 men in one design of shirt and one in another, a divide so natural that when listing formations nobody bothers with the first element: to speak of a 1-4-3-3 or 1-4-2-3-1 would seem absurd. Yet when football began with the foundation of the Football Association in 1863, there was no such thing as a goalkeeper. So late, in fact, did the modern notion of a goalkeeper come into being that it was only this year that he celebrated his centenary.

Early football — in Britain at least — was all about dribbling and scoring goals, and very little to do with organising means of stopping them. None of the many mid-19th century attempts at a set of unified rules — that is, developing a football code that could bring together in the same game sportsmen from different public schools, all of whom had their own way of playing what they termed ‘football’ — makes reference to a goalkeeper. The first match played under the rules of the FA was contested by Barnes and Richmond. It finished in a goalless draw, despite both sides taking to the field with two backs and nine

forwards, the usual formation of the age. Under the early rules, any player could handle the ball by taking a ‘fair catch’ – which permitted them a free-kick if, immediately after catching the ball, they made an impression in the pitch with their boot. Running with the ball in both hands or scoring with a throw, though, was not permitted.

The FA was merely following centuries of tradition.

The rules drawn up at Shrewsbury School in 1858 allowed for ‘fair catches’ but make no reference to goalkeepers, while the 1887 Harrow Rules, which clearly reflected the game as it had been played at the school for some time, allowed ‘handling’ but only to take a clean catch, at which the player had to shout ‘yards’. If he did so, he was entitled to move three yards in any direction without being challenged.

There was no lone player who hung back, although there were, of course, defenders. In phaininda and harpastum, ancient Greek and Roman games that can be regarded as forerunners of football, slower players were positioned at the back in what the physician and philosopher Galen termed the ‘locus stantium’ — ‘the position of the standing players’. >

the last man

Lutz Bongarts/Bongarts/Getty Images

The Goalkeeper

Tadaomi Shibuya

“I remember watching the London Marathon on TV as a kid and it being brilliant. It’s definitely something I see myself doing one day... one of the biggest marathons in the world and it’s right on my doorstep, another chance to win something on home soil. It would be nice to become one of the marathon greats, but that’s a long way away yet. When I do it, I want to do it properly.”

“I’ve had ups and downs. durIng my tIme away from the team, some people questIoned my crIcket. they regarded me as a luxury player, because I’m far from the world’s best batter or fIelder, despIte my efforts and Improvement there. but I belIeve that In fIrstclass and test crIcket, you’ve got to pIck qualIty bowlers If you want to take the 20 wIckets you need to wIn matches... the work and tIme I’ve Invested In myself, on and off the pItch, has led to a greater belIef In myself. that’s the key to producIng consIstently top performances.”

| December 7 2012 | 27

”The first goalkeeper noted for his willingness to leave his box was the Hungarian Gyula Grosics. A hypochondriac who almost became a priest and who would, while his teammates watched Westerns, shut himself in his room to work on chess problems, Grosics fitted the stereotype of the keeper almost perfectly: intellectual and a little bit odd.“

“I’d say it’s probably worse now.

Although the gym was hard on the body, it kind of held it together too. Now that I haven’t been doing as much gym work, my muscles aren’t as strong and my ligaments are a bit looser – everything’s kind of aching a bit more, so it is taking a toll on the body. The only gym stuff I’m doing is what you see in the dance routines. I’m training for Strictly from Monday to Thursday, all day every day, then Friday is the dress run and Saturday the live show.

It’s a full-time thing.”

thE FinAl WoRD...

Athletes of the Year Jess Ennis

... goes, appropriately, to the face of london 2012, the nation‘s sporting darling and the olympic heptathlon champion: Jess Ennis.

“I did feel a lot of pressure, and I think in the lead-up it did get on top of me, but then everyone was so positive. You could feel that in the stadium from the very start.

Stepping out into that stadium for the first time was like nothing I’d ever experienced in athletics before.

Heroine cHic Jess ennis began the year as a former world champion carrying the burden of a nation’s expectations into london 2012. she ends it as a multi-award-winning olympic goldmedallist and the undisputed darling of british sport. in an exclusive interview with Sport, she looks back on the year of her dreams and the Journey that brought her to it essica ennis is crying. she has not long stepped off the track after the final event of her olympic heptathlon campaign, the eternally gruelling 800m, and she is exhausted. she is at the end of a four-year cycle that started with her missing the Beijing games through injury, watching on distraught from afar as other athletes got to live out her lifelong dream; but that cycle has now drawn to a close on home soil, in front of 80,000 adoring fans in the olympic stadium, and that dream is now hers alone. Jessica ennis, olympic champion, is crying tears of joy. “i saw that bit of the BBc interview [with phil Jones] when i was crying the other day, and it made me really emotional watching it again,“ she says, perhaps unaware that the whole country was weeping with her. “it’s just weird, and i think those closest to me – [fiancé] andy and my family – were really taken aback, because i never normally cry in public. i always save my tears for behind closed doors. But during that interview, talking about how i had felt four years ago, and thinking about how much time and effort everyone around me had put into helping me get there... well, it just really choked me up.“ it’s almost impossible to watch footage of that interview without experiencing the same feelings; but, strange as it may seem to ennis and her family, such an outpouring of emotion was only to be expected after the build-up experienced by this very special athlete. the moment that ennis returned from a stress fracture of the right foot to become world champion in Berlin in 2009, posting what

Tadaomi Shibuya

J

36 | December 14 2012 |

34 | December 21 2012 |

was then the third-highest first-day heptathlon score in history along the way, was the moment at which she became the unofficial face of london 2012. athletics is the showpiece sport of the olympic games, and in ennis a demanding British public had found their darling: fast and powerful but elegant and articulate, the smiling girl from sheffield was the athlete upon whom we were to pin our greatest hopes. put bluntly, she was to our home games what cathy freeman was to sydney 2000. “i did feel a lot of pressure, and in the lead-up i think it did get on top of me,“ she admits. “But then everyone was so positive and wished me well. you could feel that in the stadium from the very start, that everyone was just so excited and wanted the home athletes to do as well as they could. “that was a massive advantage. other athletes from around the world thought it would be a disadvantage for us because there was loads of pressure; and there was, but it was such an advantage having that crowd. stepping out into that stadium for the first time was like nothing i’d ever experienced in athletics before.“

WHy not kill myself?

appropriately, the 26-year-old responded to that atmosphere by producing something she had never produced in athletics before. her time of 12.54s for the 100m hurdles didn’t just see her into an early lead and set a new British record; it also equalled the time >

| 37

“I knew I had a massive lead going into the 800m, but I still wanted to give it everything because it was the last event. Being able to celebrate after finishing that race first would have been the icing on the cake... and I’d done all the hard work, so why not kill myself one last time and have that amazing crowd cheer me up the home straight?”

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Let's The Big Sport Quiz of the Year

get

quizzicaL 36 | December 21 2012 |

It’s been a bumper year of sport, but how much can you remember? our bIg sportIng quIz of 2012, compIled wIth help from whItaker’s almanack, Is the ultImate test of your sportIng knowledge. the 50 questIons get progressIvely harder, so pace yourselves – we don’t want anyone to get hurt

1

England painfully crashed out on penalties (again) at Euro 2012. But which two England players were the culprits this time, missing their penalties in the shootout against Italy?

2

It’s also been a painful year for Rafael Nadal.

Who caused a shock by knocking out the two-time Wimbledon champ in the second round at the All England Club this summer?

3

From tennis to tarmac. The 2012 F1 season saw seven different winners in the first seven races – but who was the first driver to win twice?

What is the surname of the British brothers who won Olympic gold and bronze in the triathlon at London 2012?

6

Dereck Chisora and David Haye had a little fall-out in February, ending in a brawl at a press event. But which city were they in?

5

FANTASTIC FOUR – WhICh ONe OF TheSe plAyeRS hAS NOT led eNglANd OUT AS CApTAIN IN 2012?

A) SCOTT pARkeR B) STeveN geRRARd C) FRANk lAmpARd d) WAyNe ROONey e) JOe hART

12 13 7 8

Who did this man lose to in a November fight at the Manchester Arena?

Which title-winning snooker player announced that he would miss the remainder of the season in November?

What was the only country to make its Euros debut at Euro 2012?

14

Leinster set a record Heineken Cup final winning margin of 42-14 at Twickenham in May. Who were the defeated finalists?

Which former Australian Test captain hung up his baggy green cap in November 2012, after nearly 17 years playing for the international side?

9

In which final did cousins Anthony and Steven both miss penalties in a dramatic shoot-out?

10

Which seven-time world champion retired from his sport in May at the age of 43?

11

Which country hosted the final Grand Prix of the 2012 Formula 1 season in November?

15

Who were the two opposing team captains at the 2012 Ryder Cup?

16

England pulled off a stunning victory over the All Blacks earlier this month, the first team to beat New Zealand’s rugby giants since... who?

17

Who did Serena Williams beat in the final of the US Open in September?

18

Whose five-foot putt at the 18th hole to defeat Steve Stricker retained the Ryder Cup for Europe in September?

19

Which two gold medal-winning British cyclists announced in August that they were dating?

20

What was the name of British rock group Muse’s official song of the London 2012 Olympic Games? >

| 37

All pictures Getty Images

4

The Big Sport Quiz of the Year

24

CAN yOU NAme The SCOReRS OF TheSe pRemIeR leAgUe gOAlS FROm ThIS yeAR?

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal slogged it out in the longest Grand Slam final in tennis history at the Australian Open in January. How many points were won in total between the two players?

A) 288 B) 314 C) 369

25

Chelsea won the Champions League in sensational circumstances back in May. Who missed a penalty in extra time for Bayern Munich?

26

21

Which match at Euro 2012 saw two of the three red cards shown during the entire tournament?

27

American Bubba Watson shot to fame with his first major win in the Masters at Augusta. What colour driver did he use?

28

London played host to the Olympic Games in 2012, 1948 and which other year?

A) 1908 B) 1912 C) 1916

29

Lionel Messi broke Gerd Muller’s record for most goals in a calendar year earlier this month. Who did he score his recordbreaking 86th goal against?

30

Who came second in the overall standings in the general classification at the Tour de France in July behind Bradley Wiggins (left)?

31

Stephen Kiprotich won the first gold medal in 40 years for which country by winning the men’s marathon at London 2012?

Bryn Lennon/Getty Images, Ishara S Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images

22 38 | December 21 2012 |

23

32 7

goLd

Which cricketer won the Man of the Match award for his 78-run innings in the Twenty20 World Cup final in October?

33

Which country’s disappointing London 2012 medal tally is this? >

16

siLVeR

12

bRonze

Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

The Big Sport Quiz of the Year

34 35

39

Who captained Great Britain’s mens basketball team at the 2012 Olympics?

Which two former Premier League players scored a goal each in the MLS Cup final to help win the trophy for Los Angeles Galaxy on December 1?

36

What is the nationality of Jonathan Marray’s doubles partner, with whom he clinched the men’s doubles title at Wimbledon in July?

37 38

Who won the first Manager of the Month award for this season in September?

Sticking with football, which player provided the most assists for teammates in the 2011-12 season?

Which team gb member Won olympic gold in double trap shooting?

41

Which team did the USA Women’s basketball team beat in the Olympic final, to win their fifth consecutive gold medal?

42

hoW many gold medals did paralympicsgb Win? a) 29 b) 34 c) 52

43

Which former Premier League club holds the record for most consecutive wins in penalty shootouts, with nine?

44 45

In which sport does this Olympian compete?

In June Andy Murray became the first Briton to reach the Wimbledon men’s singles final since Bunny Austin in 1938. Murray lost out to Roger Federer, of course, but who did Bunny Austin lose to? >

40 | December 21 2012 |

Christian Petersen/Getty Images, Lars Baron/Getty Images, Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images, Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images, AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

39

Who won the 2012 Major League Baseball World Series?

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1 Ashley Young and Ashley Cole 2 Lukas Rosol 3 Fernando Alonso 4 Brownlee 5 E) Joe Hart 6 Munich 7 Ukraine 8 Ricky Ponting 9 Carling Cup final between Cardiff and Liverpool – Steven and Anthony Gerrard 10 Stephen Hendry 11 Brazil 12 Andrew Flintoff 13 Ronnie O'Sullivan

14 Ulster 15 José María Olazábal and Davis Love III 16 Australia 17 Victoria Azarenka 18 Martin Kaymer 19 Laura Trott and Jason Kenny 20 Survival 21 Sergio Aguero (v QPR) 22 Papiss Cisse (v Chelsea) 23 Peter Crouch (v Man City) 24 C) 369 25 Arjen Robben 26 Poland v Greece (the first game of the tournament)

27 Pink 28 A) 1908 29 Real Betis 30 Chris Froome 31 Uganda 32 Marlon Samuels 33 Australia 34 Luol Deng 35 Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan 36 Danish (Freddie Nielsen) 37 David Moyes, Everton 38 David Silva 39 San Francisco Giants 40 Peter Wilson

41 France 42 B) 34 43 Bradford City 44 Judo – Ricardo Blas Jr of Guam 45 Don Budge 46 Anthony Davis 47 Oleh Blokhin 48 Tyler Hamilton 49 It was the first event of the 2012 Olympic Games 50 The Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas

42 | December 21 2012 |

ANSWERS

lANce ArmstrONg’s web Of lies wAs fiNAlly UNrAvelled iN JUly, witH A fOrmer teAmmAte (ANd AUtHOr Of The SecreT race) testifyiNg AgAiNst Him tO UsAdA. wHO wAs He? In November Harry Redknapp was linked with managing Ukraine, until he figured out it wasn’t driving distance from Sandbanks and opted for QPR. But who would he have replaced as Ukraine boss?

How did you get on?

Let us know on Twitter @Sportmaguk

47

A New OrleANs HOrNets ANd UsA Olympic bAsketbAll plAyer fAmed fOr His UNibrOw tried tO cAsH iN ON it iN JUNe, trAdemArkiNg His cAtcHpHrAses, ’feAr tHe brOw’ ANd ’rAise tHe brOw’.

NAme tHAt plAyer.

Whitaker’s Almanack 2013 is published by Bloomsbury at £50

46

Quiz compiled by the team behind Whitaker’s Almanack

50

start

Can you name this circuit from the 2012 F1 calendar?

What was notable about the women’s football match between Great Britain and New Zealand, which ended 1-0 in July?

49 The Big Sport Quiz of the Year

7 Days OUR PICK OF THE ACTION FROM THE SPORTING WEEK AHEAD

DEC HIGHLIGHTS 21-DEC 27 » Football: Premier League Preview » p46 » Football: We’ve done Boxing Day too » p48 » NBA: Lakers v Knicks » p50 » NFL: Steelers v Bengals » p50 » Rugby Union: Northampton v Harlequins » p52

Long shot Festive cheer or not, there will be an overriding sense of sadness at Kempton on Boxing Day. Because, for the first time in seven years, the public’s beloved Kauto Star will not be lining up to take part in a race he made his own: the King George VI Chase.

Kauto will still be present at Kempton, parading in front of an adoring crowd despite his acrimonious recent departure from the yard of trainer Paul Nicholls, but the race he won five times from six appearances is now in need of a new hero. And it will require a performance of staggering class here to see Kauto’s star wane just yet.

44 | December 21 2012 |

The likeliest horse to produce that, at least according to the bookies, is Long Run (pictured). The seven-year-old won this very race in 2010, when Kauto could manage only third; but he has won only one of his five starts since winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March 2011, and is beginning to look like his best days are behind him. Trainer Nicky Henderson arguably has a better chance with Riverside Theatre – the eight-year-old was second behind Long Run two years ago, but is otherwise unbeaten at Kempton and has won first time out for the past four seasons.

Others to look out for include the talented Cue Card, who steps up to three miles for the first time, and the Philip Hobbs-trained Captain Chris, who was third in this last year and is notable for jumping markedly to the right.

There is likely to be a support cast of decent quality, too, but whether anything will capture the imagination like Kauto Star is a huge doubt. We wouldn’t put our money on it.

Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images

boxing day HORSE RACING | WILLIAM HILL KING GEORGE VI CHASE | KEMPTON | CHANNEL 4 3.10PM

7 Days

Premier League

Saturday wEst bRom v noRwich | thE hawthoRns | 3Pm

Man City host relegation favourites Reading – and, we hate to say it, but a cricket score could be on the cards Saturday man city v REaDinG | EtihaD staDium | 3Pm

The season’s two surprise packages face off in a fascinating fixture this weekend. West Brom may have slipped out of the heady heights of the Champions League places, but nothing should detract from the great start to the season they have enjoyed. They are well-organised and always have options in attack. That said, Norwich’s season so far is arguably even more impressive, Chris Hughton once again demonstrating what a canny manager he is, as his team haven’t lost in the league since defeat to Chelsea in early October. There is an injury worry over the Canaries’ thick-set front man Grant Holt, but Norwich have other options, especially from midfield. Wes Hoolahan is having a terrific season and will worry the Baggies all day long.

Feeling blue

Sunday chElsEa v aston villa | stamfoRD bRiDGE sky sPoRts 1 4Pm

It’s one thing having an iffy defence if you can score more goals than you let in. Current Premier League leaders Man Utd are a prime example. Reading, on the other hand, are not.

While they’re certainly capable of scoring goals, they are utterly incapable of stopping them from flying in at the wrong end. That was never more evident than earlier this week, when Arsenal destroyed them 5-2. It was a rout, but one in which the Royals still managed to bag a couple of goals of their own.

Tomorrow they travel to Man City, and there is no reason to think an upset could be on the cards: indeed, this could put the Arsenal score in the shade. Reading are so soft-centred that, if City go at them (and that means playing Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero together, something Roberto Mancini is oddly reluctant to to do), they could get double figures. The movement and vision of that particular strike partnership could bamboozle the best defences in the world, and Reading do not possess one of those. Indeed, against Arsenal they were something of a shambles.

46 | December 21 2012 |

For City, though, this is not just about going out and having fun – this is where the real work begins. Their recent defeat against Man Utd dropped them six points behind their arch rivals, and they can’t afford any more slip-ups. They will know, too, that Alex Ferguson’s teams often tend to do well at Christmas – and then get stronger as the season wears on. There is now no room for error – something that Mancini will be hammering home in his team talk.

This fixture should hold no great fears for the champions, though. Indeed, if goal difference plays a part this term, this game could be vital. We’re predicting a horror show for Reading.

36

Goals conceded

by Reading in the Premier League so far this season: more than any other team

Suddenly, from being a team full of people that nobody had ever heard of, Aston Villa have become everyone’s second-favourite side. It’s been a shocking season for them so far, but one win over Liverpool and we all love them. Why? The answer lies in the youth of Paul Lambert’s team – in this age of multimillion-pound transfers, we admire clubs built around young players. And, in all-action Christian Benteke, they have one of the finds of the season. As his confidence grows, so does his ability to unsettle defences. Chelsea, fresh from their adventures in the World Club Championship, can sometimes come undone against strikers of Benteke’s nature, but they’ll be well aware that they need three points on the board to shore up their place in the Champions League spots.

The #Wengerout movement may have gathered steam in recent weeks, but – and this may come as a surprise to some people – Arsenal are not the worst team in the Premier League. In fact, they’re fifth, two points off fourth.

Wigan away isn’t easy, but the Gunners, buoyed by a Santi Cazorla-inspired win at hapless Reading on Monday, may well carry on their good work. Arsene’s job is safe, then. For now.

saturday west ham v everton upton park | 3pm

Everton have become the league’s ultimate draw specialists, with a remarkable eight in their past 11. They’ll miss talisman Marouane Fellaini, who was banned for three games after his, er, altercation with Ryan Shawcross last week, so their job against West Ham is a lot tougher. The Hammers, too, will miss their key man in Mohamed Diame, who is out for up to 12 weeks with a hamstring injury.

saturday newcastle v qpr st james’ park | 3pm

Here’s a thing: victory for QPR would get them to within four points of the Magpies.

True, they’d still be next to bottom of the league, but they’d be within touching distance of the likes of Southampton, Wigan, Sunderland and Newcastle.

It’s too early to say whether Harry Redknapp is working a miracle at Loftus Road, but Adel Taarabt will fancy it against Newcastle, who have just one win in 11 in all competitions.

saturday liverpool v fulham anfield | espn 5.30pm

Fulham, with just one win in their past nine, are sliding alarmingly down the league. Liverpool, on the back of an awful home defeat to Aston Villa, are not exactly in rude health either. It’s time for Luis Suarez to get back on the scoresheet; he was Liverpool’s best player last week in defeat, and could be the difference between these two teams in what is, let’s face it, the ultimate mid-table clash.

saturday southampton v sunderland | st mary’s | 3pm

A proper six-pointer, this. With QPR starting to get the odd point, and Aston Villa unexpected winners over Liverpool last week, the bottom of the table is getting interesting. You can perm any three from seven, so this game may well be vital. Saints have been defensively better lately, and are able to score.

Sunderland, in typical Martin O’Neill style, are hard to break down. All the hallmarks of a draw, then.

sunday swansea v man utd liberty stadium | ss1 1.30pm

It’s a funny old season at the Liberty Stadium, although it would be churlish to criticise Swansea. They seem a team capable of competing with anyone, yet occasionally throw in an absolute loo-loo, such as the trouncing at home by Norwich recently (the 4-3 scoreline didn’t do Norwich justice). United are sweeping all before them in the league right now, with Tom Cleverley looking ever more influential in the middle.

saturday tottenham v stoke white hart lane | 3pm

The nation’s current favourite football stat – that Spurs would be top if every game lasted 80 minutes – forgets that, in any case, this is not looking a bad campaign at all for them. They’ll be wary of losing fourth spot, especially if it’s to Arsenal, but they should hold too many aces for Stoke this weekend. The Potters are as solid, but also as uninspiring, as ever. Thirteen-goal Jermain Defoe will doubtless fancy his chances.

Premier League table 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

P Man Utd 17 Man City 17 Chelsea 16 Tottenham 17 Arsenal 17 Everton 17 West Brom 17 Norwich 17 Stoke 17 Swansea 17 West Ham 17 Liverpool 17 Fulham 17 Aston Villa 17 Newcastle 17 Sunderland 17 Southampton16 Wigan 17 QPR 17 Reading 17

W 14 10 8 9 7 6 8 6 5 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 4 4 1 1

3.94

D 0 6 5 2 6 9 3 7 9 5 5 7 5 6 5 7 3 3 7 6

L 3 1 3 6 4 2 6 4 3 6 6 5 7 7 8 7 9 10 9 10

F 43 33 28 30 31 28 24 19 15 26 21 23 28 15 19 18 22 18 15 21

A 24 15 17 25 18 21 21 25 13 22 20 23 29 24 26 24 32 32 30 36

Pts 42 36 29 29 27 27 27 25 24 23 23 22 20 18 17 16 15 15 10 9

Man Utd’s league games have seen an average of 3.94 goals per match this season.

Only Barcelona’s have seen more (4.50)

| 47

All pictures Getty Images

saturday wiGan v arsenal dw stadium | 12.45pm ss3

7 Days

Variety box

Whether you’re tucking into leftovers, nursing a hangover or driving to the petrol station for AA batteries, there’s a full hamper of football fixtures to keep an eye on this Boxing Day

boxing day Aston VillA v tottenhAm | VillA PArk | sky sPorts 1 5.30Pm

Pantomime Villains Paul Lambert’s Villa side are currently five league games unbeaten, and the youngest side in the division were as entertaining as David Hasselhoff in panto in their 3-1 dismantling of Liverpool last weekend. Things seem to have finally clicked up front, with Christian Benteke (left) the battering ram providing space and opportunity for the team’s sprinkling of tidy midfielders. Tottenham, too, are on the up – they’ve won four of their past five in the league and would top the table if not for the number of late goals they’ve conceded. Both sides are most dangerous on the break, which could lead to a cagey affair, but then both will fancy the win.

Villa, at the time of writing, lie 14th – some way off the visitors in fourth. Or, to look at things from Spurs’ point of view: they’re behind you.

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images, Paul Thomas/Getty Images, Chris Brunskill/Getty Images, Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

boxing day stoke v liVerPool | BritAnniA stAdiUm sky sPorts 1 7.45Pm

boxing day ChAmPionshiP | nottinghAm Forest v leeds United | City groUnd | sky sPorts 1 12.15Pm

Stoke play Scrooge The famously vocal crowd at the Britannia haven’t seen their team lose at home in the league all season, and there’s no reason to expect that to change with the visit of Liverpool, who have just two wins in the away column this term and face the most miserly defence in the division. The teams met in October at Anfield, a 0-0 draw in which the Reds managed just two shots on target. It’s a familiar pattern for Liverpool, both this season and against Stoke generally: two wins from nine Premier League games against the Potters, and winless in the past three – they’re unlikely to find their hosts charitable here.

Christmas cracker?

Down in the Championship, meanwhile, the pick of the fixtures is a televised lunchtime kick-off between two fallen giants who are falling some way short of their promotion ambitions at present.

Recent history tells us we can expect goals when Forest and Leeds meet, however. The defending from either side has been something of a bad joke in the past four games between them, yielding as it has no fewer than 22, including a memorable 7-3 win for Forest at Elland Road last season – although they’ve lost the other three.

Elsewhere on Boxing Day, there is the small matter of Cardiff, who top the table going into this weekend’s fixtures, hosting Crystal Palace, who at the time of writing lie second. Steve Bruce will hope that fourth-placed Hull get the better of Leicester, currently sixth, while in-form Middlesbrough will smell blood (and three points) when they welcome freefalling Blackburn – and their bald, beleaguered boss Henning Berg – to the Riverside.

48 | December 21 2012 |

Around the grounds

Elsewhere in the Premier League on Boxing Day, an interesting bunch of 3pm kick-offs you can see only by actually going, or making use of a dodgy internet feed. Man Utd will expect to take three points from Newcastle’s visit to Old Trafford, as will Everton when they host Wigan.

Sam Allardyce gets yet another chance to wind up Arsene Wenger, with West Ham off to the Emirates to play Arsenal, while Harry Redknapp will expect QPR to continue their mini-revival at home to a West Brom team that celebrated entering the top four by forgetting how to win.

Man City visit Sunderland, while a weary Chelsea take on Norwich at Carrow Road.

That leaves out-of-form Fulham looking to get back on track at home to Southampton, and Reading at home to Swansea.

Worth ignoring the in-laws for.

7 Days ChriStmaS day basketbaLL | Nba: La Lakers v New york kNiCks | staPLes CeNter, Los aNgeLes | esPN 8Pm Christmas Day is traditionally a busy one in the NBA – and this year it’s pretty tasty too, with a clash between two of the league’s best-known franchises, the Knicks and the Lakers.

Last season, the Lakers reached the Western Conference semi finals, while the Knicks went out in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Things are different for both teams this time round, however.

The Knicks are enjoying their best 21-game start to a season since 1995 (16-5) – a run that sees them, at the time of writing, top of the Eastern Conference.

On the opposite coast, the Lakers have struggled, despite signing All Stars Steve Nash and Dwight Howard over the summer. A 1-4 start to the season saw them sack head coach Mike Brown and replace him with ex-Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni, who resigned from the New York team in March after a disappointing run of results and a personality clash with the Knicks’ All-Star forward, Carmelo Anthony (pictured).

On Christmas Day, then, Anthony and D’Antoni meet for the second time in quick succession, after the Knicks emerged 116-107 victors from the pair’s meeting last week. D’Antoni might have at his disposal what the New York Times hailed in pre-season as “one of the most talented line-ups in NBA history”, containing no fewer than five All-Stars, but it’s also the oldest starting line-up in the league. With Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Steve Nash and Dwight Howard all suffering various injuries since the start of the season, the Lakers haven’t yet been able to field them all fully fit at the same time.

If he’s to get a precious win over his former team, D’Antoni may need all his Christmases to come at once on Tuesday.

Old friends, new foes

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images, Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Sunday NFL | Pittsburgh steeLers v CiNCiNNati beNgaLs | heiNz FieLd, Pittsburgh | sky sPorts 2 5.30Pm

Steelers strive for sixth 50 | December 21 2012 |

It’s week 16 of the 17-week NFL regular season, and things are hotting up in the contest for postseason football. Nowhere is the competition tighter than in the AFC North, where on Sunday the Cincinnati Bengals travel to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers, with their sights set on claiming the division.

The Steelers need a win to keep alive their hopes of grabbing the sixth seed in the conference – they will no doubt be relying on quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (left) to step up, as he so often has in crucial games.

A Steelers win would come as sweet news to the Baltimore Ravens, who lead the Bengals by a single game but are on a run of three defeats. They may have already secured a wildcard berth, but frustration began to show after Sunday’s defeat to the Denver Broncos. “We’re a 9-5 football team and it feels like we’re 0-14 right now,” said quarterback Joe Flacco after the game.

The Ravens’ opponents this weekend are the New York Giants (Sky Sports 2, 9.15pm), who are in danger of missing out on the postseason. The Super Bowl holders need to win their final two games to give themselves a chance to defend their crown, but the NFC East is too close to call. The Giants, the Washington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys are all currently 8-6; things might be clearer after the weekend, but don’t bank on it.

iPad edition on Newsstand now

7 Days Saturday Rugby union | aviva pRemieRship: noRthampton v haRlequins | FRanklin’s gaRdens | sky spoRts 3 3.15pm

Saints and winners

After two weeks of make-or-break Heineken Cup rugby, it’s back to domestic action and a full round of Premiership games this weekend. And the two sides heading to Franklin’s Gardens will both arrive with very different types of confidence.

For the hosts, last week’s win over Ulster was pivotal in their season’s plan. A heavy defeat the week before had left Northampton exposed – and, while European qualification is probably still too big a task, that win in Northern Ireland was about this

BESt OF tHE rESt

FRIDAY

Pete Norton/Getty Images

CRiCket south africa v new Zealand: First t20, kingsmead, durban, sky sports 2 3.55pm

squad digging deep and proving they can produce.

With Harlequins in town tomorrow, the power game that Saints took to Ravenhill needs to be brought to bloom again. Big carrying around the pack and a tight defence is key to stopping this Quins side, but it’s up front where Saints win games. The boot of Stephen Myler (above) was in top form again last week – more of the same would do nicely.

For Quins, meanwhile, the past two weeks have been somewhat incidental to their season.

nba memphis v dallas, FedexForum, memphis, espn 1am

SATURDAY Rugby union aviva premiership: bath v saracens, Recreation ground, espn 12.45pm

Football Championship: blackpool v Wolves, bloomfield Road, sky sports 2 7.45pm

CRiCket india v england: second t20, Wankhede stadium, mumbai, sky sports 1 1pm

Football la liga: atletico madrid v Celta, vicente Calderon, sky sports 3 9pm

Football la liga: valladolid v barcelona, estadio Jose Zorrilla, sky sports 4 5.15pm

equestRian olympia horse show, london olympia, british eurosport 9pm 52 | December 21 2012 |

Football Championship: Crystal palace v huddersfield, selhurst park, sky sports 2 5.20pm

Football la liga: malaga v Real madrid, la Rosaleda stadium, sky sports 4 7pm daRts World darts Championship: day 9, alexandra palace, sky sports 1 7pm

SUNDAY CRiCket big bash league: adelaide strikers v sydney sixers, adelaide oval, sky sports 2 8am WinteR spoRt Freestyle skiing: ski Cross World Cup, innichen, italy, british eurosport 2 10am

A scoreline of 110-19 across two matches with Zebre won’t have taught Connor O’Shea much about his men, but it will certainly have done them no harm to put a big score on a team, having won three of their past four league games by just three points.

Danny Care’s ability to eke a gap in a powerful defence could be crucial, while Nick Easter is close to his best form since entering the international wilderness. As with so many times in Harlequins’ past, England’s loss is the Londoners’ gain.

Football spl: kilmarnock v hibernian, Rugby park, sky sports 4 12.45pm Rugby union aviva premiership: london Wasps v sale sharks, espn 1.30pm

nba miami v oklahoma, american airlines arena, espn 10.30pm CRiCket australia v sri lanka: second test day 1, mCg, melbourne, sky sports 1 11pm

WEDNESDAY Football spl: hearts v dundee united, tynecastle, espn 4.15pm

Football spl: dundee v Celtic, dens park, espn 6.45pm

TUESDAY

nba denver nuggets v la lakers, pepsi Center, espn 2am

CRiCket india v pakistan: First t20, bangalore, sky sports 1 1pm

THURSDAY

nba brooklyn nets v boston Celtics, barclays Center, espn 5pm

tennis mubadala World tennis Championships: quarter Finals, abu dhabi international tennis Complex, espn 1pm

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| 53

P60 The last film we saw with a tiger was The Hangover. Life of Pi will be a similar proposition, right?

Keep the receipt

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HTC One SV HTC’s flagship smartphone has been upgraded for compatibility with the UK’s 4G network, so you’ll be able to enjoy superfast browsing speeds (for a hefty fee). A 1.2GHz processor and the latest version of HTC’s take on Android ensures the phone stays up to speed, too.

Launches early next year. £TBC | htc.com

Audio Pro Living LV1 Finished in leather, and looks like something you might buy at Ikea – this audio system has more in common with a sofa than most. Inside, though, it’s filled with far more than lint and loose change. There are powerful speakers and wireless technology, too. £350 | audioprodirect.co.uk

SOL Republic Tracks V8 Headphones

Hoover Robo.com2 “How to make our robotic hoover with edge-to-edge cleaning and remote control sound futuristic?” thought the marketing execs at Hoover. “Well, let’s stick a .com on the end and, if that’s not enough, maybe square the whole thing.”

Maths is cool, right? £400 | hoover.co.uk

54 | December 21 2012 |

For the ultimate in customisation, these phones are fully changeable, so you can swap out the (virtually indestructible) headband for another one if you fancy a change of colour. Or if you somehow manage to destroy it.

From £80 | Apple stores

Extra time Jade Elliott

56 | December 21 2012 |

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his, believe it or not, is Jade Elliott – daughter of former Leicester City Lurch-like hatchet man Matt.

When we found out, Sport couldn’t help but gawp incredulously at this very page, our index finger raised and pointed toward her as we croaked: “Elliott? El-li-ott?”

But it’s true. And the former Miss Leicester has rubber-stamped her sporting connection by hooking up with Bolton defender Matt Mills, whose younger brother Joseph is playing at Burnley on loan from Reading. We imagine them as one happy family, gathered round the television this festive season to watch a classic film or two.

Elliott the elder might opt for Uncle Buck – a timeless Christmas movie with an important message: mess around with my loved ones and I will come for you with a razor-sharp hatchet (we told you he was a hatchet man), a power drill and a golf club.

Then again, he might have mellowed in his old age and opt for something different. Like E.T. Just imagine, if you will, the bants with two Elliotts in the room.

Either way, Jade is worth calling home about.

Go on – pick up the phone. After all, it’s Christmas.

Phone home White Carousel/Lipstick Syndication

Extra time Kit 4

Stand out in the cold Festive jumpers are back in fashion, so grab one while you still can

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Demon 1Denim Vajjoe Jumper If this doesn’t make you stand out at the Christmas party, you might as well give up.

That said, the woollen round neck will at least keep you warm while you sit in the corner, on your own, cursing your colleagues. £80 | zalando.co.uk

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Eden Park Christmas Jumper

The French brand does a lot of things right when it comes to good-looking clothing, and this smart festive number is no different. Arguably those are autumnal leaves as opposed to snowflakes, but it looks just Christmassy enough. Approved. £185 | 020 3166 4031

3Musto Carina Fair Isle Pullover

Also available in cream, this Musto cotton and wool top is designed to keep you warm on the high seas, so it’ll definitely do a job on winter nights. Musto themselves say the detail is nautical-inspired. We say nonsense – this one has Christmas written all over it. £90 | musto.com

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Duke 4Nordic Mighty Knitted Jumper We’re big fans of this contrast-colour top, especially because the button-through funnel neck and chunky collar will keep you warm on the coldest of cold days. Not on its own, mind – wearing other clothes is highly recommended. £75 | highandmighty.co.uk

Triathlon Themed Christmas Jumper

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This acrylic top is the perfect gift for the triathlete in your life – along with a bike, a pair of trainers and a naughty pair of Speedos. Look – snowmen swimming, cycling and running! Just like little snowy triathletes. £40 | tritrainingharder.com

6Lee Cooper Fair Isle Jumper

The ribbed trim to the collar, cuffs and hem ensure a comfortable feel, while the reindeer and little snowflake-esque patterns subtly hint that Christmas is fast approaching. Stick one on and sing a carol, if you know what’s good for you. £17 | sportsdirect.com

7Dr Denim Bruno Jumper

This army green number should keep you nice and cosy during the Christmas shopping rush, thanks to a shawl collar, two-button placket and ribbed cuffs and hem. It’s handwash only, though, so ask mum nicely when you’ve washed up after Christmas lunch. £70 | surfdome.com

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Extra time Entertainment

Delicious Pi

Film

Peep Show retains its edge, while a South American blockbuster and Ang Lee’s tigerish drama are simply grrreat DVD

Peep Show Series Eight

Life of Pi

At an age when most sitcoms have long jumped the shark, Peep Show remains razor sharp. It’s never tried to soften its self-serving central duo, who spend series eight vying for the lovely Dobby’s affection until they’re pushing each other on to an electric fence. The internal monologues are still a highlight. Mark may tell Jeremy “I’ll think about it”, but his inner-voice instantly rejoins “I’ve thought about it, and it’s a no“. Seems an eerily familiar process. Out next week.

Tony the Tiger is a Sport magazine favourite, but the CGI big cat in Ang Lee’s breathtaking 3D epic shows Tony up for the one-note ham he is.

The film, based on Yann Martel’s award-winning novel, follows an Indian zoo-owner’s son who finds himself shipwrecked on a boat with no company except for a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan and an adult Bengal Tiger. It’s utterly fantastical,

DVD

Film

Misfits Series 1-4

Fuerzabruta Roundhouse Say ‘Argentinian theatre’ and we usually picture a tiny footballer jinking past defenders rather than a man charging through walls. That, however, is part of Fuerzabruta (or ‘brute force’): a spectacular Argie theatre experience.

The show comprises a series of cunning stunts that mix technical wizardry with physical prowess. It’s back to amaze at the Roundhouse in London from December 27.

60 | December 21 2012 |

The fourth series of Channel 4’s delinquentswith-superpowers comedy was hit and miss, but this complete boxset is a reminder of how regularly funny it is.

Despite fighting Nazis, zombies and nuns, the chav-tastic gang always bring a touch of reality to proceedings. Out next Wednesday, innit.

BooK Western Approaches Graham Hurley The murder of a rower is the aptly Olympian plot at the heart of crime fiction ace Hurley’s latest book.

The writer has left his beloved Portsmouth for a new setting, placing detective Jimmy Suttle in windswept Dartmoor.

Expect an appropriately dark and chilly yarn.

West of Memphis It’s produced by Peter Jackson, but there are no hobbits in this documentary about a trio of teens convicted for the brutal murder of three eight-year-old boys in 1993. Rather, there’s a far darker type of fiction alleged here: many believe that the then-teenagers were victims of a terrible miscarriage of justice, with confessions coerced out of them. This riveting doc about a near 20-year fight for the truth may well get your blood boiling. Out today.

Tincho Garcia

show

in the best possible way. Lee whips up a treat of storms and animal attacks, touching on themes of survival, faith, humour and romance (not on the boat, obviously). The story sweeps you along, even if there’s a feeling by the end that it’s a beautiful but somewhat empty vessel (albeit one with a big ol’ tiger in it). Still, will get Oscar nods for the stunning visuals alone. Out now.

” are registered trademarks of Sony Corporation. “make.believe” is a trademark of the same company. ” are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. “SONY” and “ ”, “PS3”, “ “2”, “PlayStation”, “PLAYSTATION”, “

Become a member of PlayStation Plus for only £39.99 per year and you get to download over 45 games a year for your PS3 including Motorstorm Apocalypse, LittleBigPlanet 2 and inFamous 2 PLUS over 20 games a year for your PS Vita.

You also get access to online storage, themes and avatars, plus much, much more.

uk.playstation.com/playstationplus

Extra time Grooming

Elf yourself Because there’s room for everyone on the nice list. And still room on your list for all of these...

for thE Elf look (sort of)

Shockwaves Hold Range The Shockwaves Hold range, they tell us, allows you to play with your style and create texture, sculpted flicks or quiffs, safe in the knowledge that they will stay put, even under your elf hat.

Okay, we added in that last bit. But the rest is true of the (from left to right) Power Hold Gel Spray, Hairspray, XXL Gel, Tuff Stuff Gel, Power Hold Gel, Rock & Hold Gel Styler and Rock &

Hold Gel. Shockwaves style director Michael Douglas recommends using a combination of two products to maximise hold and texture by first applying a small amount of gel to damp hair, then blow or towel-drying before using putty or clay to achieve the style you want. That, though, will have to be from another Shockwaves range. Another range, another year. See you in 2013. boots.com

£2.85 each

thE ElfEctric shavEr

thE ElfEctric toothbrush Colgate Proclinical A1500

£127.29

Braun Series 5 5040s Power through your daily shave with effortless control thanks to Braun’s FlexMotionTec technology and an upgraded motor (because these things don’t run on Christmas cheer alone) delivering 20 per cent more power than previous shavers. The Series 5 also boasts better skin contact, even on

62 | December 21 2012 |

difficult areas of the face, and includes Braun’s UltraActiveLift system, which captures flat-lying hairs. Use it dry, or in the shower with foams and gels for maximum smoothness in fewer strokes.

And you don’t have to pass through seven levels of the Candy Cane forest to buy one – there’s a third off the range this Christmas at Boots. boots.com

Face it, you’re going to eat a sleighload of candy canes in the next week. Colgate’s latest brush is on your side, though. Its sensors automatically adjust to select the most appropriate speed and action for different areas of your mouth. And it has three stroke speeds and a stroke rate of up to 32,500 per minute, plus LED display and timer options.

Perfect, if smiling’s your favourite. colgateproclinical. co.uk

£169.99